Brienz

Geschichte

Brienz is a village and municipality on the northern shore of Lake Brienz, at the foot of the Brienzer Rothorn mountain, and in the Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland. Besides the village of Brienz, the municipality includes the settlements of Kienholz and Axalp.Politically, the municipality is located in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district of the canton of Bern.HistoryThe first settlements date from the neolithic and Bronze Ages. In the 5th century BC, the Celts settled in the alpine valleys among the sources of the Rhone, the Rhine and the Danube, eventually stretching from the headwaters down to Vienna and Belgrade. At the end of 1st century BC the Romans conquered this area. The Roman settlements were destroyed by the Alamanni in 259/60. They eventually settled in the area around 450. In any case, evidence has been found for a settlement by the Alamanni in the 7th century. Brienz is first mentioned in 1146 as Briens. In 1528, after an eventful history, Brienz became part of the Canton of Bern.Lake Brienz has probably been in use as a transport route since pre-history, but the first steamship was introduced in 1839, operating a route between Interlaken and Brienz. In 1888, the metre gauge Brünig railway opened between Brienz and Alpnachstad, on Lake Lucerne. Brienz therefore became, for a while, a transfer point on a hybrid ship and rail route from Interlaken to Lucerne. By 1916 the Brünig railway had been extended to Interlaken along the north shore of the lake, and Brienz found itself simply an intermediate stop on a through rail route.