Kienholz near Brienz There is a section of the village of Brienz, Canton Bern called Kienholz from which a legend emanated and a family originated. A local Brienzer tale describes an event which took place many centuries ago and of which there are numerous variations. Here is an adaptation of one of the versions published by Albert Streich of Brienz:
WHEN THE TOWN KIENHOLZ WAS BURIED On a warm summer Sunday many hundred years ago, a man came down from the alps and into the Berner Oberland village of Kienholz. He told the people to be watchful of the mountains above. Towards the evening, thunder and a dark grey cloud appeared in the blue sky. Everyone who lived in Kienholz fled from their houses. One of the mountains collapsed and an avalanche filled the valley. Kienholz had been buried underneath the uncontrolled mudflow of the Lammbach River. The castle Kien was crushed, and mud and stones covered the town so completely nothing more could be seen. It now looked like a desert. Nothing more indicated that there ever was a town there, so great was the devastation.
A merchant wagon arriving in the region of Brienz passed through Kienholz after the town was buried. The merchant and his dogs travelled over the rocks and mud that covered Kienholz. One of the dogs started to dig on the side of the road. On the return trip the dog started digging at the same spot. Every time they passed in the next few days the dog repeated this act. Finally the owner of the dog reported the dog’s behavior to the officials in Brienz. Hearing of this the Brienz officials sent some men to Kienholz to excavate. Toward evening they dug out a brick house. It was the cellar of the Kienholz pub. Within the cellar they found an old man and little boy who were still alive!
The old man was brought to Brienz where he explained how he and the boy were taken unaware, and how they survived off cheese and wine stored there and drinking the water which had dripped down through the stones. It seemed to the old man as if they had been buried for many years. They would have had food for only three more weeks. Three days later the old man died. Some surmised it was because he couldn’t stand the daylight anymore. The little boy recovered. As a memory of the strange happenings, the city officials changed the boy’s family name Schneitter to Kienholz. The little boy married, raised a family and from that time the family name Kienholz was established in Brienz.