View of Thun and the Hotel Bellevue with the steamer ‘Bellevue’ on the left, coloured aquatint by Heinrich Siegfried, circa 1840, publisher Rudolf Dikenmann, Zurich.
View of Thun and the Hotel Bellevue with the steamer ‘Bellevue’ on the left, coloured aquatint by Heinrich Siegfried, circa 1840, publisher Rudolf Dikenmann, Zurich. Swiss National Museum

Showcasing the stunning views of Lake Thun

Tourism was developed in Switzerland in the 19th century through innovation and investment. This was mainly driven by private individuals who recognised the sector’s potential and wanted to tap into it. In the Thun region, these tourism pioneers included the Knechtenhofer family.

Reto Bleuer

Reto Bleuer

Reto Bleuer is a volunteer at the Archaeological Service of the Canton of Bern.

When poet Johann Wolfgang Goethe visited Thun in 1779, the town was small and easy to navigate and its 1,500 or so inhabitants were mainly artisans and petty traders. Travellers like Goethe would stay in one of the few guest houses and then set off on a five-hour trip across Lake Thun in a rowing boat to discover the mysterious mountains, valleys and glaciers of the Bernese Alps. But a strenuous journey such as this was reserved for a select few: mainly an educated elite who wanted to expand their horizons and then capture their experiences in paintings, poems, songs and diaries. Guidebooks were also produced, such as the one written by Bernese priest and natural historian, Jakob Samuel Wyttenbach in 1777 for those wishing to travel through part of the remarkable Alpine regions of Lauterbrunnen Valley, Grindelwald and via Meiringen to Bern. Travellers acted like advertisements for these remote regions and their accounts further fuelled curiosity among town and city dwellers.
Lower Grindelwald Glacier and the Eiger, etching by Gabriel Lory, circa 1788.
Lower Grindelwald Glacier and the Eiger, etching by Gabriel Lory, circa 1788. ETH-Bibliothek Zurich
In the early 19th century, local master butcher, Jakob Wilhelm Knechtenhofer, recognised that Thun – the gateway to the Bernese Oberland – had the potential to be a tourist destination in itself. Knechtenhofer opened up his family home ‘Lindenheim’ in Thun- Hofstetten to travellers, offering them accommodation and showing them the beauty of the local region. In 1818 he had a pavilion built close to the accommodation on a hill above Thun, from where his guests could enjoy stunning views of the town with its castle and church, Lake Thun, and the surrounding mountains. The vantage point was soon dubbed ‘Jakobshübeli’ after the man behind it. Two of Knechtenhofer’s sons, Johann Jakob and Johann Friedrich, took over their father’s business in the 1820s and kept it running after his death in 1828. The brothers, who had successful military and political careers and were previously active in textile trading, had the necessary finances and extensive contacts. They invested heavily in tourism and opened the guest house ‘Hotel Bellevue et des Bains’ in Thun-Hofstetten in 1834. It was considered the first modern hotel in the Bernese Oberland. A newspaper report on 1 August 1834 gushed about the “newly built hotel” surrounded by English gardens, meadows and orchards: “This extensive establishment offers one of the most comfortable and delightful stays in the whole of Switzerland.” The ‘Bellevue’ later garnered positive reviews in the renowned Baedeker guidebook, which hailed it as one of “the best hotels in the world” alongside a number of other luxury establishments in Switzerland.
Bellevue Hotel in Thun, Georg Straub, circa 1840, Verlag H.F. Leuthold, Zurich.
Bellevue Hotel in Thun, Georg Straub, circa 1840, Verlag H.F. Leuthold, Zurich. Zentralbibliothek Zürich
The ‘Ländtehaus’ located right on the bank of the River Aare, was bought by the Knechtenhofers in 1831 and was also renovated and converted. Located close to the hotel, it served as an annex and housed a restaurant. The proximity to the water also came in handy for another pioneering tourist feat: on 31 July 1835, the first steamer made its maiden voyage on Lake Thun. The paddle steamer, which the Knechtenhofers ordered from France, was also called ‘Bellevue’. During the summer season, the ship’s captain, Johannes Knechtenhofer, another brother, who had previously trained as a skipper on Lake Neuchâtel, sailed the ship three times a day from the landing stage next to the ‘Ländtehaus’ to Neuhaus at the other end of Lake Thun. The journey took just over an hour.
This photograph by Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey (produced using daguerreotype) must have been taken around 1847 and is probably the first photographic depiction of a Swiss steamer.
From 1843 to 1857, the steamer ‘Bellevue’ sailed on Lake Brienz and during that time was known as ‘Faulhorn’. In 1860 it was brought back to Lake Thun and converted into a tugboat. This photograph by Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey (produced using daguerreotype) must have been taken around 1847 and is probably the first photographic depiction of a Swiss steamer. Wikimedia / Musée gruérien Bulle
The business outlook for the enterprising Knechtenhofer brothers was excellent and their clientèle was growing steadily. In 1840, another building was opened very close by as an annex. This one was called ‘Bellevue du Parc’. The young Jakob Wilhelm Knechtenhofer, a nephew of the brothers, then took over the family business. He was trained in hospitality and continued the construction work. More new buildings sprang up around the hotel, most of which in the chalet style, and offered guests even more amenities. For example, there was the ‘Salon de Réunion’ where guests dined, the ‘Salon de Lecture’ where they could enjoy sophisticated literature and the chapel, which was built especially for guests from England to worship. This was the heyday of the ‘Bellevue’ empire: the Knechtenhofers welcomed noble and distinguished guests, such as the Prince of Wales in 1857, Emperor Napoleon III in 1865, King William III of the Netherlands in 1868, and many more.
Postcard showing the Bellevue complex and chapel circa 1898. Hubacher & Biedermann, Kunstanstalt, Bern.
Postcard showing the Bellevue complex and chapel circa 1898. Hubacher & Biedermann, Kunstanstalt, Bern. Staatsarchiv des Kantons Bern
The Bellevue complex still exists in Thun and many of the Knechtenhofers’ buildings have survived.  However, they are mostly no longer used for tourism having been converted and repurposed, but the 19th century pioneering spirit is still very much in evidence. The ‘Salon de Billard’ no longer exists though as it was demolished in 1966 to make way for the hotel swimming pool. The ‘Bellevue’ Hotel operated until 15 September 1980 and is now a retirement home. The hotel ‘Du Parc’ is now a private school, while the ‘Ländtehaus’ is flats and houses a restaurant, as in the early days. The English chapel has retained its original purpose and was acquired by the Catholic parish of Thun. The original viewing pavilion on the ‘Jakobshübeli’ collapsed in 1907, but was rebuilt four years later. The view of the now much larger town of Thun and its surroundings is still stunning.
Pavilion on the ‘Jakobshübeli’, 1912, photographed by Jean Moeglé.
Pavilion on the ‘Jakobshübeli’, 1912, photographed by Jean Moeglé. Burgerbibliothek Bern
Besides the buildings, the town also has another much heftier reminder of Switzerland’s tourism history – the 50-ton steamer ‘Bellevue’. But these days it takes a lot of effort and the right equipment to see it. The ship was stripped of its 16 horse power steam engine in 1860 and converted into a tugboat. On 2 April 1864 the tugboat sank off the village of Oberhofen in a heavy storm, causing a sailor to lose his life. 138 years later, the wreck of the ‘Bellevue’ was rediscovered by a team of amateur divers. It lies 120 metres down on the floor of Lake Thun, covered with a thick layer of silt.

Published on: 08.08.2023

Modified on: 10.10.2023

URL: https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/en/2023/08/showcasing-the-stunning-views-of-lake-thun/

More of: Modern AgeTourismNature

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