Grand Chalet de Rossinière — Attraction in Rossinière

Renowned as the largest inhabited wooden building in Switzerland and possibly in Europe, the Grand Chalet was built by Jean David Henchoz, a wealthy cheese merchant.

Work on the Grand Chalet started in 1752 and finished in 1756. Unfortunately, David Henchoz died in 1758 at the age of 46 so did not live to enjoy his house.

The size of the building was dictated by the cheese cellars that had to be large enough to store several thousand cheese wheels. These were produced in the surrounding farms and purchased for export.

The Grand Chalet has six floors and, during construction, required 700 cubic meters of timber. Trees were cut over two winters and transported by horse-drawn sledges. The south-facing facade is 27 meters long and 19.5 meters high.There are 60 rooms and 113 windows. The frescoes on the front of the chalet took 43 days to create.The roof has 950 m2 of wooden shingles (tavaillon).

The building was converted into a hotel in 1857 and became popular with English tourists who visited in the summer months. With the arrival of the mountain railway (MOB) in Rossinière in 1904, tourists also started to arrive for the winter season.

From 1916-1918, the Grand Chalet in Rossinière was used to house sick and wounded British prisoners of war, interned in Switzerland as part of a Swiss humanitarian initiative brokered by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

The famous painter Balthus purchased the Grand Chalet in 1976. It is currently owned and inhabited by his widow, Countess Setsuko Klossowska de Rola. The chalet is inhabited and is not open to the public.

A recent addition to the Grand Chalet is a large pen on the west and south side that houses three large wolf dogs. The dogs look very similar to wolves and are inclined to...

In 1977, the artist Balthus purchased the Grand Chalet of Rossinière, one of the largest and oldest chalets in Switzerland, dating to 1754. He converted it into his studio and worked there until his death in 2001. He and his wife, Setsuko Ideta, also a painter, have lived here for 20 years. Before that he lived in grand and conspicuously remote houses in...

The place is full of magic. Little mountain village and a great, old and beautiful house. Small exhibition to be visited. Balthus' studio looked as if he was absent just for a while... We've been there long ago and I'd...