Brienz

Brienz occupies the eastern shore of Lake Brienz in the Bernese Oberland and is one of Switzerland's most intact timber-house villages, its historic townscape protected under national heritage law. Wood carving has been the village's defining craft since the early 19th century: the carving school founded in 1884 trained generations of artisans who supplied European markets, and the same tradition gave rise to a local school of violin making that persists to this day. The Brienz Rothorn Bahn departs from the village and climbs to 2,350 metres entirely under steam power — one of the last cog railways in Europe to run regular steam-hauled services, operating from May through October. The lakefront promenade offers views of sheer limestone cliffs across the water, while marked trails connect directly to the Haslital valley and the tiered Giessbach waterfall.