Interlaken

Interlaken takes its name from the Augustinian monastery recorded around 1133 as "inter lacus" — between the lakes — on imperial land on the left bank of the Aare. The canons controlled a bridge over the river and drew income from its tolls, and a village with a mill grew up around them; in 1279/80 the small town of Unterseen was founded nearby on the other bank. A document of 1310 records 30 priests, 20 lay brothers and 350 women at the house; despite reform measures the nuns' convent was closed in 1484, and at the Reformation in 1528 Bern secularised the monastery and turned its lands into a bailiwick governed from its buildings.

For centuries the place was a cluster of farming villages, Aarmühle and Matten among them, whose quarrels shaped the local borders. Tourism changed that. The Unspunnenfest of 1805 and 1808, a festival of Swiss traditions held below the ruins of Unspunnen Castle, drew the first crowds; from 1820 visitors came for the mountain air and spa treatments, and a Kursaal opened in 1859. Aarmühle used the name Interlaken for its post office and station, and in 1891 the municipality adopted it officially.

Railways followed: the Bödelibahn opened from Därligen on Lake Thun to Interlaken in 1872, the Bernese Oberland railway reached Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald in 1890, and lines to Thun and Lucerne completed the connections. The boom stopped abruptly in 1914, resumed more slowly after the war, and the villages of the Bödeli have since grown together into one built-up area.

Interlaken's identity is that of a host town. Its life revolves around visitors from all over the world, and the Höheweg, the main street lined with hotels between the two stations, still shows the shape of the old resort. The Kursaal is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance, and the whole built-up village is part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.

Older Bernese Oberland traditions survive alongside the tourism. The Unspunnenfest, held roughly once every twelve years, brings together Schwingen wrestling, yodelling and Steinstossen, the throwing of the heavy Unspunnen stone, made of Aare granite from the Hasli valley. In summer the Greenfield Festival brings rock bands to the outskirts of town. Brienz, a short train ride along the lake, is the centre of Swiss woodcarving.

The town is also known as an adventure-sports centre. Guiding companies offer paragliding, hang gliding, skydiving, canyoning, rafting and climbing. The town's parliament meets in the Kunsthaus, the art museum on Amman-Hofer-Platz.

Interlaken had about 5,700 residents at the end of 2020, and the agglomeration around it about 23,000. Over a quarter of residents are foreign nationals, and German is the main language, with Portuguese and Italian the next most common. Apartments are scarce: the vacancy rate in 2010 was just 0.1 per cent.

Tourism dominates the economy. In 2017 the town had about 27 hotels with some 1,600 rooms, and most overnight stays are by international visitors. About 6,900 people were employed in the municipality in 2014. Industry never vanished entirely despite the emphasis on tourism: a parquet factory operated from 1850 until 1935, and a wool-weaving factory opened in 1921.

Matten, Unterseen and Interlaken share their infrastructure and have grown into a single small town on the Bödeli. The rhythm of the year follows the seasons of the mountains: crowded summers, a busy Christmas and winter season, and quieter weeks between, when some lifts close.

Interlaken's restaurants serve the dishes of German-speaking Switzerland to a largely international clientele. Fondue, usually several hard cheeses such as Gruyère and Vacherin melted with white wine and eaten hot with bread, and raclette, melted cheese served with potatoes, are the convivial dishes associated with mountain culture, more often eaten on cold evenings than every day.

Rösti, a fried potato cake, was originally a breakfast dish of farmers in the canton of Bern and is now served all over the country, often beside fried eggs, a cervelas sausage or Fleischkäse. Älplermagronen, the herdsmen's macaroni, combines pasta, potatoes, onions, small pieces of bacon and melted cheese, and is traditionally served with apple sauce. Zopf, a braided bread with a golden crust, is the bread of Sunday breakfasts.

Meiringen, further up the valley beyond Lake Brienz, claims to be the place where meringue was first created. Swiss chocolate, from Lindt and Cailler to Toblerone, fills the shelves of the supermarkets by the stations.