1031 – Dwelling from Brienz, Berne, 1776
Heinrich von Flüe, toll administrator in Brienz, had this house built. He managed an inn with storage for transport goods and stables for draft animals.
Captain of Finance
Heinrich von Flüe, toll administrator in Brienz, had this house built. He managed an inn with storage for transport goods and stables for draft animals. As relay stations, such toll houses were important infrastructure for trade and transport. Von Flüe also acted as a shipping agent from 1762 till 1776 in Brienz, a popular place for transferring goods from boats to pack animals. Von Flüe became a wealthy man. He built his house on the "Trachtstutz" near the harbour, ideally located for traffic by land and lake. In 1969 the house yielded place to a new post office.
Traffic and Tourists
After 1782 two families lived in the double house. They, like later occupants, lived from transport and tourism. We find the trades of boatsmen, shippers, coach drivers, freight carriers, innkeepers and mountain guides. Woodcarvers also relied on the tourist economy; from the beginning of the 19th century the art of woodcarving developed into the most typical handiwork of the region. After about 1820 some house owners installed a "Butik" (workshop with salesroom) in their tall cellars. They were woodcarvers either full-time or on the side. Otto Hulliger was the last to pursue this trade in 1937–1938. The shop sign was made by Alfred Stähli (1882–1972), who had his "Butik" in the "Schiffschopf" in Brienz.
Art on Houses
The dwelling part is in timber construction and the facade is richly decorated: the entire window front is densely loaded with friezes. These decorative bands are carved right into the wall timbers and run in stylised wave forms and foliage patterns across the whole width of the house. The protrusion of individually carved wall timbers which lend additional structuring to the façade is also typical for the Bernese Oberland.
What can you see now in Brienz where this dwelling used to stand?
What used to be a roadhouse is now a post office.
Ballenberg
Swiss Open-Air Museum
Museumsstrasse 100
CH-3858 Hofstetten bei Brienz
Opening hours
10 April to 2 November 2025
10 am to 5 pm daily
