1362 – Cheese Storehouse from Leissigen, Berne, 1780
The storehouse from Leissigen on the Lake of Thun stood on the Hornalp at 1199 metres (3934 feet) above sea level. It was in use until 1981.
Mountain Storage
The storehouse from Leissigen on the Lake of Thun stood on the Hornalp at 1199 metres (3934 feet) above sea level. It was in use until 1981. It belonged to the community, which employed a dairyman and two farmhands each summer. A new hut with integrated cheese storage space was built on the Hornalp in 1982, where cheese is still being made today.
Wooden Box on Legs
The full hip roof protrudes noticeably beyond the walls and shelters the little frame building. Wooden legs rest on a ring of massive foundation sills and raise the building above the ground. This permits air to circulate under the floor and keeps ground moisture from soaking into the storage space. Cheese loaves were aged in this storehouse.
Solid Elegance
The date 1780 is over the doorway. As massive as the storehouse may be and as thick its walls, the storehouse seems dainty seen from afar. The type of construction is timber framing.
Who Gets How Much?
On the first day of the alp summer (“Bsatztag”) each farmer drew a coupon from a “Zöttelikappe” (stocking hat). The coupon bore the dates on which he was obliged to ascend to the alp and weigh a day’s milk. All summer long the milk of each cow was weighed on each Saturday evening and each Sunday morning, and the measurement extrapolated for that week. At the end of the summer the cheese was fetched out of storage. Its total weight was divided by the total amount of milk. The quotient was multiplied by the weight of milk measured for each individual cow. Each farmer got an amount of cheese corresponding to the performance of his cows.
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