CRACK THE NUT!
The best from the world’s largest collection of around 15,000 specimens. These handmade masterpieces portray famous figures from the past in the fields of politics, business and art. For example, Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) meets Ferdinand von Zeppelin (1838–1917) and Johannes Brahms (1883–1897). The Swiss creations of wood sculptors such as Jakob Stähli-Linder, Peter Stähli-Linder, Johann Stähli and many others are praised as magnificent works of great historical and social value.
When it cracks, it will get delicious
Soon the question arises: what do these famous people from times gone by have to do with walnuts, almonds and hazelnuts? Visit us and find out!
From tree to nut, from nut to enjoyment with a fine nutcracker – you can experience this wonderful journey in summer 2026 at the Swiss Woodcarving Museum in Brienz!
Visit also our new EXPLORER’S WORKSHOP to find out even more about the wood that is used for chalets and wood carvings!
Rarities and cinematic contemporary witnesses
This year, for the first time, the museum is also able to present contemporary film witnesses from the Brienz region. The fascinating insights into life and people in Brienz almost 100 years ago invite you on a journey into another, bygone world. Those who want to get information digitally can be accompanied by the “Living History Guide”, the practical tablet that shows stories and backgrounds via QR code.
Please find more historical films on our Youtube channel:
Special Exhibitions – Review
The museum team of the Foundation for Wood Carving Brienz can look back on a respectable series of special exhibitions. Here is an overview:
2011
Carved Masks – Artisan Traditions
May 14 – September 25, 2011
With items on loan from the Museum Rietberg Zurich and private collections
2013/14
Brienz Woodcarving – Immaterial Cultural Heritage and Living Tradition
May 4, 2013 – April 19, 2015
With the inclusion of the museum in the “List of Switzerland’s living traditions”, the diversity of wood sculpture in Brienz was displayed.
2015
Current Production in Swiss Wood Carving
May 9, 2015 – April 16, 2016
An exhibition of the Swiss Woodcarvers Association after merging with the Association of Brienz Woodcarvers VBH
2016/17
Playing with Wood – Wooden Toys to Touch and Admire
May 21, 2016 – November 26, 2017
Wooden toys from different aspects and with enough space to indulge in your own playing instinct.
2018
Carver Dynasty Huggler – 200 Years Art und Artistic Handcraft
May 5 – October 31, 2018
The focus of the special exhibition was the unique Huggler woodcarving dynasty, which shaped wood carving in the region over a period of 200 years.
2019
Women Woodcarvers in the Cabinet
May 4 – October 27, 2019
It was time to dedicate a platform to the increasing number of women in wood carving. The exhibition attracted considerable attention and was a success.
2020/21
Carl Binder Brienz – Paris – Brienz
May 2 – October 31, 2020 and May 1 – October 30, 2021
Influenced by great French masters, Carl Binder celebrated international success. The exhibition showed early and later smaller to life-size figures and works.
2022
Bernhard Dürig – Forms of Nature
May 8 – October 31, 2022
The banded sculptures seduce the observer with their lightness and elegance, as if a breath of wind could move them.
2023
CUBES – Out of the workshop, into the cube
Woodcarvers from all over Switzerland show their works
May 6 – October 29, 2023
A world full of lightness, creativity, and joie de vivre was presented by the mobile exhibition THE CUBE with the diversity of the valuable work of the Swiss Woodcarvers Association. It provided a multifaceted insight into the works of over 40 Swiss woodcarvers, around 20 of whom come from the woodcarving stronghold around Brienz. Whether the boy with the harmonica, the fighting (or just cuddly?) cows, masterly slender figures, the wolves or the playful approach of girl and chimpanzee – there were hardly any limits to creativity. The works showed a wide variety of techniques, but also special features from diverse origins.
2024
CHALETS TO TAKE HOME
Souvenirs between nostalgia and kitsch
May 5 – October 27, 2024
The 2024 special exhibition brought our visitors a little closer to the ‘”chalet” phenomenon. Chalets are as much a part of Switzerland as watches and chocolate. They still characterise the Alpine landscape today. No wonder travellers want to take their chalet home with them – as a small souvenir or even as an entire house from a specialised chalet factory. The wooden chalet has become a global export and can be found on every continent as a so-called Swiss house. The bygone world of the ‘Hüselischnitzler’ (Swiss house carvers) around 1880 in Brienz also came to light again and fascinated visitors with its astonishing stories.
The exhibition is currently on show at the Gletschergarten in Lucerne.
2025
URS-PETER TWELLMANN
“Drawn and sawn”
May 4 – October 26, 2025 Wood is broken, split, sawn up and analysed in order to finally be brought into new arrangements and contexts. Environment, material, mood and more characterise the creation of new works, often directly in untamed nature. For over 25 years, Urs-P. Twellmann has been immersing himself in nature, taking inspiration from trees, but even more so from firewood or even wild landscapes, to see what could be inserted next to give everything a new look.