From Iseltwald to the Giessbach Falls

The historic Grand Hotel Giessbach towers above the Giessbach-See station. Since 1879, a railway has run directly to the hotel from there. “Already around 1800, the famous female boatmen from Brienz rowed visitors to the Giessbach Falls. To facilitate access to this natural spectacle, the two men from Brienz, Daniel Wyss, a pastor, and Johann Kehrli, a teacher, created a path from the lakeshore to the waterfalls, including a bench,” can be read in the chronicle. The lakeside path from Iseltwald also has its history. As early as 1949, plans existed for a left-bank road along the lake. But the population wanted to prevent the national road project along the shore of Lake Brienz, so it was finally routed mostly through tunnels. During construction, the then hiking trail was used as an access road and later as a goods road, which caused hiking groups to protest again. As a replacement, a lakeside path was finally built, which we now follow to the valley station of the Giessbach funicular.