Woodcarving in Brienz

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In the famine of 1816, wood turner Christian Fischer from Brienz started decorating goods with wood carvings and selling them to tourists. In order to meet growing demand he soon began teaching the skill to people from the region. In 1851, Brienz woodcarving achieved international recognition at the London Exposition. "Brienz Woodcarving School" was founded in 1884, becoming an educational institution and official training workshop of the canton of Bern in 1928. Now known as the "School of Woodcarving", the institution is the only place in Switzerland where young people can learn the art of woodcarving. Since 2009 the school has also provided vocational training for new turners, basket makers, coopers and white-wood coopers. Today, professional woodcarvers run independent businesses, fulfilling demanding contracts but also producing souvenirs, since the ties between woodcarving and tourism remain strong after two hundred years despite various attempts at diversification. Because the products and the historical and practical knowledge of woodcarving are threatened by the changing generations, the "Association for the Collection and Exhibition of Brienz Woodcarvings" was established in 1990, in turn establishing the "Swiss Woodcarving Museum" in 2009.