Spectacular Chalets on the Simmental House Trail

(This post published on July 27, 2025)

Wednesday July 9, 2025 -- After weeks of very hot weather (the freezing point was measured at 5100 meters altitude!), temperatures plunged drastically so that some of the mountain passes as low as 2400 meters got quite a bit of snow! Mountains we were hoping to summit at around that altitude were measuring temperatures of 3ºC to 8ºC degrees!

On this week of Urs' vacation (after rain on Monday and Tuesday), we couldn't even go up to high elevations! So for this lovely sunny day we traveled to the Simmen Valley (Simmental) in Canton Bern to do an easy three-hour walk which we had wanted to do for a while, a path called the "Simmentaler Hausweg", or "Simmen Valley House Trail", a trail which passes by many beautiful wooden chalets, some between 200 to 500 years old, many with intricate paintings and carvings on their facades, done by local carpenters, a tradition of these valleys. Even though we were barely at 1000 meters altitude, the air was cool, visibility was great, the paths were good even though some of it was on paved roads.

We started in Weissenburg station on the railway line from Spiez to Gstaad, and walked northwards to Erlenbach station. As it was still early and this easy walk was less than three hours, we stopped on the way back to Spiez in a small town called Wimmis, which has a great castle and also features a few more of these houses. 

(The Bernese Cultural Protection Ministry wants to bring these treasures to the public's attention by creating several such trails in this and other side valleys. There are maps indicating where the most ornate of these houses are located along the route, all of them numbered so you can look up the information on the Internet (https://www.hauswege.ch/simmentaler-hausweg/). We have already done two such trails before, once in the Diemtig Valley (photos HERE), and once also in the Simmental, but further to the south, also starting in Weissenburg (photos HERE, second half).

PART I : Simmental House Trail from Weissenburg to Erlenbach

On the way from Spiez to Zweisimmen or Gstaad along the Simmen Valley, we always get a look at the Wimmis Castle above the the town. We had decided on this day to finally stop in this village on the way home to have a closer look.  

It is proving to be a very nice day as our train heads south into the Simmental Valley.

Train station in Weissenburg where we started on our hike at 10:45. (Back in October 2023, we also started here but headed south along a trail to the only Calcium Mineral Springs in Switzerland, and headed back along the House Trail there). 

After traveling for 2 hours and 45 minutes via Bern and Spiez, we started at the Weissenburg train station (in the Simmental Valley) at 10:45, walked for about 10 km along the "Simmental House Trail" and ended at the Erlenbach train station at 15:20.

On the way up we had to make our way through some tall meadow grass.

View up the Simmen Valley as we climb up the hillside. 

Making our way up the hill toward a small village called Weissenburgberg

The first thing we found in Weissenburgberg was a self-serve fridge, where Urs bought some cheese. It took us 35 minutes to walk to here, 200 meters uphill. 

Continuing up the hill along the "Simmentaler Hausweg", we spotted a cat in a meadow. Every meadow has a cat!

What a cut little chalet!

Heading along the Simmentaler Hausweg, we are making our way to a little hamlet called Nidflue, where we expected to see four of the houses featured in the brochures. 

Such an appropriate little model house on the "Simmental House Trail"!

Lots of nice houses up here on this hillside. 

In the background we can see the little village of Weissenburgberg. 

At about 12:15 we got to the village of Nidflue. There were four houses here which are part of the "Exhibition", and we were able to find them all. (Nos.29-31 on the brochure)

On the first house we got to, we found information about a master carpenter named Johannes Messerli, born in 1720, who was the most famous carpenter in the Bernese Oberland in the 18th Century. He built a total of 19 houses which were nicknamed "Farmers Palaces", and which are among the most beautiful farm houses in Switzerland. 

This house, called the Messerli House, was the first house built by Johannes Messerli (in 1739, when he was 19 years old, working together with his father), and served as a "sample" for future building contracts. The artwork and carvings on the south face of this house are some of the most impressive carpenter artwork in the Alps. 

The "Messerli House" was the first house built by Johannes Messerli and his father in 1739. It exists still in its original form. The paintings and carvings are some of the most masterful in the Alps. 

The second house we looked at in Nidflue was build in 1726. (Not by Johann Messerli...)

This house, built in 1726, was expanded in 1750. The artwork here is quite fantastic as well. The painted pictures below the top windows depict Daniel in the Lion's den. You can see the date of 1726 painted near the corner of the walls. 

The third house we looked is even older than the other two. It was built in 1642!

This 1642 house was built by another Master Carpenter named Stäfen Bärgman. The facade contains all his various traditional artistic styles. 

Heading now to the final house in Nidflue (we had to make a little detour), we pass this cute little Spycher (Granary), which I later found out was built in 1578. 

We had to take a bit of a detour to look at this house. The owner was working in his yard so we chatted with him for a bit. He said that his grandfather grew up here, and he was able to purchase it from the estate. The house was originally built in 1713. 

The style of the house construction is from the 17th Century (although the build date inscribed in the wood is 1713) but the artwork and calligraphy are from the 18th Century. 

Details of the front of this beautiful house. Despite the 1713 date of construction, the style of this house is from the 17th Century. 

Walking back to the main trail, we pass the little Granary again. Built in 1578!!!!

Continuing now on the Simmental Hausweg, we are headed next to Balzenberg, where there are two more houses which we passed before we descended to Erlenbach.

All the houses up here are cute, with pretty carvings and paintings, even though they might not be as old as the featured ones!

There are very strict regulations on new builds here in this valley. All the new houses have to be in the old chalet style, and most still have pretty carvings in the wood.

Leaving Nidflue at 12:45. 

On the way to Balzenberg, we found a bench at a barn, a good place to stop for our lunch break at 1 p.m. (although it was a bit dirty). 

There were two more nice houses along the way in Balzenberg (the other houses 32A, 33 and 34 were out of the way of the trail we wanted to take). 

This house in Balzenberg, built in 1801, is named "Haus Zurbrügg". It was extensively renovated in 2010-2012. 

And this other house a short way down the road, was built in 1693 by an older Hans Messerli, and is the only painted house in Balzenberg. 

Continuing down the road, there were lots of other nice houses to admire. 

More nice houses.

There are always lots of interesting details on the houses. 

In between, several nice meadow paths. 

There are always lots of butterflies everywhere. 

The lovely Simmental Valley, with Mt.Niesen on the North end. Down below is the town of Erlenbach, where we are now headed. 

We are loving the meadow trails. 

We passed under the Stockhorn cable-car line, a cable-car we rode in September 2023 to Erlenbach after having walked to the summit of Mt. Stockhorn. 

Last stretch down into the town of Erlenbach. 

We ended up at the north end of the wooden covered stairs up to the town church in Erlenbach. Even though we visited the church last time we were here, we went up to have a look again. 

The church in Erlenbach is essentially a Romanesque Hall from the 11th Century, with a ribbed vault from the 13th century and a pointed roof from the 15th century.    

The inside of the church is entirely painted like a bible story. This unique artwork, dating from the 15th Century, was uncovered in restoration work in 1931. 

Wonderful details of the little church in Erlenbach in the Simmen Valley. 

We knew that there were five more houses featured on the "Simmental House Trail" in Erlenbach. So, descending from the church, we started on the west side of the village, walking eastward along the main street. 

The first house we passed is called "Platzhaus", built in 1780.

The Platzhaus was built in 1780 with a very large cheese cellar.

The next gorgeous house along the main road is called the "Vépyhaus". It was built in 1766 by the same Hans Messerli, the most famous master carpenter in the Bernese Oberland in the 18th Century.  

The construction of this 1766 house is unusual because the main house is typical of the Simmental house construction, but the rounded roof extension is untypical. 

(This house, not part of the tour, is given a mention together with House Nr.35: It is called "Regezhaus") 

The next house (Feature no.36) is the Linde Gasthaus, also built by Hans Messerli. 

Gasthaus Linde, built by Hans Messerli. A sign above the lower level windows reads "1766". 

We spotted this decoration on someone's front porch The figure made with clay pots looks like "Sideshow Bob" from the Simpsons!

Heading down to the train station now, we pass the fourth of the five houses showcased here: Built after 1765, this has been the post office building since the 19th Century. 

Post office building since the 19th Century, built after 1765. 

And the fifth and final house before we reach the train station is the current museum. 

This house called "Angensteinhaus", dated back to 1766, was first used as a hospital from 1869 to 1881. It is another one of Hans Messerli's creations. The building was renovated in 1985, and has been used as the Valley Museum since 1987.

The cats always come to Urs for some cuddling!

At 3:30 p.m. we "hopped" a train for the 10-minute ride to Wimmis near Spiez, where we would spend a little over half an hour walking to the castle and looking at another four houses featured on the Simmental House Trail. 

What the hike from Weissenburg to Erlenbach looks like on Google Satellite Maps. 

PART II : Simmental House Trail in Wimmis

There are six houses featured in Wimmis, but we had time only to view houses Number 3-6 which were somewhere between the train station and the castle. The other two would have required a longer detour. (We wanted to take the next train 35 minutes later instead of an hour later, to avoid the end-of-business-day crowds in Bern on the way home). 

We started at Wimmis train station at 15:40 and headed up via some back alleys to the church on the hill. From here you can also see the pretty castle. 

Standing below the Wimmis Castle, we didn't go up the steps to it, as we wouldn't have had time to visit it anyway. (Later we found out that there are guided tours once a month, so we would not have been able to visit anyway). The castle was previously an ordinary fortress guarding the entrance to the Simmen Valley, but upgraded to a castle in the 12th Century! Over the centuries, the town of Wimmis received much damage due to warring factions with Bern, but the castle was left unscathed. 

In the Oberdorf section of Wimmis was the first of four houses we had a look at. This one was built in 1687, restored in 1987.

Along with a description of House No.6, there is a mention of another Simmental house from 1657 located just across the square, with roof braces carved as animal snouts.

This lovely building across from Number 5 is not specifically featured on this trail, but mentioned on the description of the house across the square. It has roof braces carved to look like animal heads, and also carved decorations and painted calligraphy, including the date of 1657.

Heading over to the little church on the hill for a quick look inside. 

This is the Evangelical Castle Church. The original church was built at the end of the 10th Century, but was burnt down in 1337 during the conquest of Wimmis by Bern. It was then rebuilt shortly thereafter, with frescoes from the 15th Century, which were restored during total renovations in 1962/64. 

From the church grounds, the view north over the roofs of Wimmis, toward Lake Thun. 

Heading into the village now from the castle and church, we pass the site of the second featured buildings: The old mill. The mill building on the right is from 1702, and the little residence on the left is 1827. 

The mill building was constructed in 1702. An interesting mill machine and millstone stand in front of the building. 

House Number 4 on the Trail is the most interesting of all. The little placard attached to the front of the house reads "Built approx. 1500"! That's so hard to imagine: About 500 years old. 

This information states that the house, built in 1534 and 1544, is the oldest house in Wimmis. It was rebuilt and renovated in 1982/83.

Then there is the next featured house (No.3), built in 1762.

This type of house is called "Frutigtyp", a building which consists of both a residence and a barn, a style developed in the 16th Century in the nearby Frutigen Region. What is special on this 1762 building are the large amount of friezes decorating the front of the house. 

Another attractive building on our walk back to the train station. 

From the train station, a look at the little church and castle in Wimmis. 

We did a little tour around the town of Wimmis to the little church and castle, then along the main road to look at the houses featured on the "Simmental House Trail". We walked quickly as we wanted to catch the next train out 35 minutes later.... (We actually did the little walk in 30 minutes, and got to the station five minutes before the 16:15 train.)

These are the hikes we have done in the Simmental Valley just south of Lake Thun 

View of Lake Thun as our train heads into Spiez from Wimmis. (We caught the 16:15 train in Wimmis, for the 2-hour 20-minute trip home via Bern).  

And now the train heads westward along Lake Thun toward Thun and Bern. 

Crossing the Aare River into the train station in Bern. This is a favourite view of mine, looking past the bridges to the cathedral in old-town Bern. On nice days we can see the Bernese Alps in the background as well. 

Location of the Simmental Valley within Switzerland. 

There are over 40 houses featured on the Simmentaler Hausweg.