13 - Heidenhus

The «pagan cross» gave his name to the «Heidenhus», one of the oldest houses in the Diemtigtal. It’s a former muleteers’ inn, later it served as a classroom of the school and between 1941 and 1946 it was a restaurant.

The growth rings in the timber suggest that it was built between 1507 and 1510, making it one of the oldest houses in the Diemtigtal.

Originally two rooms wide, the upper floor and gable are original. Side struts brace the gable posts, which in turn support the overhanging roof, a construction which later became known as a “pagan cross”. The sill on the upper storey, adorned with grooves, is the oldest known protruding wall in the Bernese Oberland. The decorative ridges on the underside of the roof purlin are typical of the 16^th century. Until 1908 the corner room on the left-hand side belonged to Bächlen school and served as a second classroom. In the 1930s it was again used as a schoolroom. Between 1941 and 1946 the “Alpenrösli” restaurant was based in the house.