Group visits in winter? But of course!
We are more than happy to organize group visits during the winter season – cow carving, a tour of the masterpieces, stories about the long tradition of wood carving – this and much more aw...
17 January, 2025
Woodcarving
Museum , Brienz
Warm Wood . Fine Art . Sensory Experience .
Woodcarving
Museum , Brienz
Warm Wood . Fine Art . Sensory Experience .
Woodcarving
Museum , Brienz
Warm Wood . Fine Art . Sensory Experience .
Woodcarving
Museum , Brienz
Warm Wood . Fine Art . Sensory Experience .
Woodcarving
Museum , Brienz
Warm Wood . Fine Art . Sensory Experience .
The Swiss Woodcarving Museum is located in the heart of Brienz. It is the heart and soul of the woodcarving village, the national centre for woodcarving. Meet the faces and stories of fascinating works and inspiring artists. Ideal for group events, company outings, family programmes and real quality time.
Wood is real . Wood is alive . Wood feels like home .
Contact
Schweizer Holzbildhauerei Museum
Hauptstrasse 111
Postfach 592
CH-3855 Brienz
+41 33 952 13 17
Opening Hours
03.05 – 31.05.2025
We – Su: 13.30 – 17.00 h
01.06. – 30.09.2025
We – Su: 10.30 – 17.00 h
01.10 – 26.10.2025
We – Su: 13.30 – 17.00 h
Admission Fees
Adults: CHF 8.00
Children: free
Tours for groups: CHF 50.00, flat rate, plus admission CHF 8.00 per person
News & Inspiration
How does a piece of wood become a work of art? Which thoughts lead to which figures? Cherry, oak or olive? How does the next generation work? Where are forgotten wood sculpture gems hidden? Why do the most important aspects of wood sculpture come together in Brienz?
Special exhibition 2025 with a field of tension between chaos and order
Look forward to the coming season, when with Peter Twellmann a particularly interesting special exhibition awaits us. His fascinating works, influenced by nature, will invite you to marvel … don...
10 January, 2025
The Foundation and the museum wish you …
… a Merry Christmas, time for reflection and a Happy New Year....
20 December, 2024
Still looking for a Christmas present?
Whether a smiling human-sized figure, a piece of furniture with that certain something, a decorated chopping board, a bear coat rack or a famous wooden cow large or small, gifts made of wood are simpl...
12 December, 2024
Increase in visitor numbers in 2024
We look back with gratitude on the 2024 season with an attractive special exhibition ‘CHALETS TO TAKE ALONG’ and an increase in visitors, especially in the area of group and company events. It giv...
01 December, 2024
Do you follow us on Facebook?
The museum is of course also present on social media – do you already follow us on Facebook? There, too, you will always find exciting news from the multifaceted world of the home of woodcarving...
28 November, 2024
Geigenbau – hochprofessionell
Lieben Sie klassische Musik? Oder epische Rockmusik mit Orchester? Was auch immer ihre Musikstil prägt, Geigen oder Violinen gehören zu anspruchsvollsten Instrumenten überhaupt. Für besonders hoch...
25 November, 2024
Chalet from Brienz visits China
Almost 200 years ago, works from Brienz went around the world. A wooden chalet from 1913 by the Jobin company is currently shining at the “Swiss Design Classics” exhibition in Beijing, China. Init...
21 November, 2024
When it gets rough …
Wood sculpting can be filigree precision work. However, wood sculpting often starts very roughly with chainsaws when the large piece of wood needs to be shaped. On closer inspection, some people are a...
15 November, 2024
When guests have fun …
We look back with such pleasure on a lively, wonderful 2024 museum season … Not only Swiss people, but guests from all over the world have immersed themselves in the fascination of wood sculptur...
08 November, 2024
Jobin Chalet in Shanghai, China
Thanks to valued partners we are able to present the most beautiful woodcarving art to the Chinese public … A wonderful Jobin chalet has arrived safely in China and the **SWISS CLASSIC DESIGN** ...
05 November, 2024
Magical November sunshine
A visit to the Schnitzler village of Brienz has a special charm these days. The sun is pleasantly warm, the colourful forests with the first snow on the mountains and the glistening Lake Brienz…...
02 November, 2024
Use the last chance for a visit! End of season: October 27
What a great season! … Take the last opportunity to visit this year’s special exhibition “CHALETS” and the wonderful exhibits in our collection exhibition. A stop in the bistro with a ...
25 October, 2024
Wood carving at the IGA Interlaken 2024 trade exhibition
Nadine Bircher, Gina Sommer from the HOLZAB studio and Markus Flück from Schnätzi Brienz/Swiss Wood Carving School will be giving a wonderful insight into wood sculpting at this year’s IGA ...
18 October, 2024
04 October, 2024
Every work of art starts with a sketch
It takes several steps from the idea to the work. Hardly ever does a figure emerge directly from the mind … Turning thoughts into a real (woodcarving) figure requires spatial imagination, the ab...
27 September, 2024
The fascination of wood carving
It always smells fine in the studio, the imagination can be given free rein, wood is a wonderfully warm natural material – oh yes, there are many reasons to find wood carving ‘jolly good’ &#...
20 September, 2024
Furniture in wood carving – modern or traditional?
Carved furniture is often a magnificent piece of home furnishing – do you tend to follow modern trends or do you like it traditional? Functional and beautiful furniture with wood carving gives e...
13 September, 2024
Chalets in the Bernese Oberland
… look particularly pretty now with their splendour of flowers. The history of chalets in wood carving, with rarities and curiosities, shows wonderful aspects of the alpine phenomenon in our mus...
06 September, 2024
Musical extravaganza at the violin making school
The new concert season of the Swiss Violin Making School begins with a concert by two young stars of the scene, violinist Diana Tishchenko from Ukraine and cellist Bruno Philippe . Further classical c...
03 September, 2024
Violin making – woodwork in perfection
What would music be without the violin? It would lack something important…! The Brienz violin making school, the only one in Switzerland, not only ensures that traditional working techniques are...
30 August, 2024
Landart – how beautifully wood art blends into the landscape
The building material wood, a natural product of the purest kind, is transformed into a work of art and presents itself anew in nature. This creates unique atmospheres that allow you to rediscover art...
23 August, 2024
The museum is open!
Brienz is currently very busy with the clean-up work. Anyone who can is helping out – a big thank you to everyone! Fortunately, our museum with all its works is not affected and open to welcome ...
15 August, 2024
09 August, 2024
Summertime is hiking time
Sport and fun – guaranteed on the Schnitzlerweg Axalp near Brienz. Discover the magnificent wooden figures along the way with your children, look for the next one with motivation and then grill ...
02 August, 2024
simply because it lifts one’s spirit
… some more impressions of the great event of the Woodcarving Symposium 2024 – not only the new works shone in glorious sunshine …...
29 July, 2024
The Woodcarving Symposium 2024 was a real joy!
When local and international wood sculptors inspire each other … when beautiful new creations are born right on the quay of Lake Brienz … when people dance, laugh and talk shop – the...
26 July, 2024
Visit our new Explorer’s Workshop
Lime, oak, walnut – three trees, three species, three colours, different fruits, different leaves, different woods – do you know the differences? Get to know them in our new discovery work...
19 July, 2024
15 July, 2024
Cow carving, the great fun
Whether as a family, with friends or work colleagues – carving a wooden cow yourself is great fun! Book our special programme, accompanied by a professional wood carver, carve your own cow and r...
09 July, 2024
Free guided tours of the museum for symposium visitors
Take the opportunity to combine your visit to this years symposium with a visit to our museum – there are now exclusive free guided tours! “Chalets” is the name of our special exhibi...
03 July, 2024
Start of the International Woodcarving Symposium, 2 – 6 July 2024
The Swiss and international wood sculptors arrive in Brienz today to start their work! Accompanied by the traditional folklore evening, they get to know each other, exchange ideas and get in the mood ...
02 July, 2024
Cultural funding for the Swiss Foundation of Woodcarving renewed
Our governing body, the Swiss Foundation for Woodcarving, has been able to extend the cantonal cultural subsidy for the period 2025-2028. As an important cultural institution, the foundation relies on...
28 June, 2024
Rainy weather? Visit our museum!
Whether it’s the special exhibition “CHALET”, the new discovery workshop, the store or a coffee in the bistro, plus the comprehensive collection exhibition with masterpieces and surp...
21 June, 2024
Woodcut technique that works
Does a QR code work when it is carved into wood? The local artist Alice Gafner investigated this exciting question and can happily say: yes, it works! Her profession is carving a subject into a wooden...
14 June, 2024
Be sure to mark in your agenda … Wood sculptor symposium Brienz 2024
From 2 – 6 July, the Brienz lake promenade, the ‘Quai’, will be transformed into an artistic site – not only will nature with Lake Brienz and mountain ranges be celebrated from its mos...
06 June, 2024
Chalets belong to Switzerland like watches and chocolate
… so true! We can’t imagine our beautiful countryside without the heart-warming wooden chalets, which simply invite you to take a closer look, marvel at them and (if possible) visit them. ...
31 May, 2024
The freezing girl
Time and again, the museum foundation receives valuable donations – thank you very much! Just recently, for example, the ‘Freezing Girl’, a moving sculpture created by Carl Binder at the beg...
25 May, 2024
Chalet Chalet Chalet
What fascinates visitors from all over the world, especially here in the Bernese Oberland, are the villages and their beautiful houses. The chalets, some of which are richly decorated, go straight to ...
17 May, 2024
Our museum is open – we are thrilled to seeing you!
Immerse yourself in the heart-warming world of woodcarving – full of imagination, with great craftsmanship, old masters, new creatives – the Schnitzler world is colorful! For young and old...
08 May, 2024
Tomorrow vernissage and opening 2024
Saturday, 4 May, 4.00 pm is the big moment – vernissage and season opening 2024 of our museum! With new highlights in the collection exhibition and the brand new special exhibition 2024 “C...
03 May, 2024
New! Explorer’s Workshop
Lime, oak and walnut – three magnificent tree species that not only adorn our forests, but are also ideal for wood sculpting. What colour is their wood, what does it smell like? What do the leav...
01 May, 2024
Cow carving – great fun!
Whether you are a talented craftsman or simply open to a new experience – even cow carving is great fun! It brings colleagues together. With travel companions it’s unforgettable and with f...
24 April, 2024
Become a supporter of the Foundation for Woodcarving!
The Foundation is the body responsible for the Swiss National Museum of Woodcarving. It can count on the support of the Canton of Berne’s cultural promotion programme, but is still dependent on ...
15 April, 2024
Excursion with a school class?
The museum will be even more suitable for a school trip next summer! Get to know the element of wood in its most beautiful form, immerse yourself in the theme of chalets, explore the discovery worksho...
05 April, 2024
HAPPY EASTER
We wish you happy Easter days with your loved ones, good luck with the egg hunt and time to enjoy the first signs of spring …...
30 March, 2024
On 4 May – vernissage & season opening!
Preparations for the new 2024 museum season are in full swing. The collection exhibition is being fine-tuned, the new special exhibition on “Chalets to take away” is being integrated, the ...
28 March, 2024
Lime, oak, walnut
Three trees that are native to our forests. Native wood that is ideal for wood sculpting. Have you seen how different the wood colours are? It’s also fascinating how the scent differs and every ...
15 March, 2024