Tschiemer's Bergbauernhof
This is us
Let us introduce ourselves
Heinz and Marietta Tschiemer-Wüthrich and their three sons run a fifth-generation mountain farm on the Hubel in Habkern.
After training as a farmer and agricultural salesman, Heinz spent his apprenticeship and travelling years working in sales and as a sales representative for agricultural capital goods in the Unterland region.
Marietta worked in sales at Landi Oensingen for several years and then became manager at VOLG Kandersteg. After starting a family, we decided to return to Habkern and take over the mountain farm on the Hubel together.
Habkern
Our company
The valley farm is located on the Hubel, slightly above the village centre of Habkern. The agricultural land lies at an altitude of 1,100 to 1,300 metres and covers approximately 20 hectares. We are involved in dairy farming and cattle breeding.
For us, promoting and preserving biodiversity is the basis for producing natural and healthy food. We operate in accordance with IP-Suisse guidelines.
Summer
Alpine summer
In summer, our animals graze on the Scherpfenberg/Nollen/Älgeuli alp. This is a cooperative alp run by several farmers from Habkern and the Interlaken area. Depending on vegetation, it is used for around 110 days each summer.
More information about the alp can be found here: www.lombachalp.ch
Alpine cheese
... directly from Tschiemer's mountain farm
During the summer months, the milk is processed daily into various cheese specialities on the alp.
You can buy alpine cheese, Mutschli and Hobelkäse directly from us in Habkern or order them from our shop.
Bernatone
Alphorn making in Habkern
For a small-scale mountain farm, supplementary income is vital for survival. The Tschiemers have ventured into something unusual: making alphorns from wood sourced from their own mountain sawmill.
In 2012, we had the opportunity to take over a well-established alphorn manufacturing business. We decided to take the plunge and moved the business from Niederbipp to Habkern. This allows us to produce instruments that are made entirely in Habkern, from the forest to the sawmill to the alphorn workshop.
The decision to focus on the alphorn workshop was also influenced by the fact that one of Habkern's two village shops had to close at that very moment. A large space with shop windows in the centre of the village was suddenly no longer needed.
‘It would not have been good for the village if such a property had only been used as a storage room,’ says Heinz. ‘With our workshop, the centre remains lively.’
Quality
Tradition and state-of-the-art technology
A Bernatone alphorn is made exclusively from local spruce wood sourced from the forests of Habkern. From raw tree trunk to ready-to-play instrument, the wood is processed and refined by the Tschiemer family.
Father Hans Tschiemer saws the tree trunks in his sawmill and Heinz Tschiemer and his small team use them to make the widely renowned Bernatone alphorns.
Thanks to modern CNC machines, the instruments have above-average responsiveness. This makes it easier for beginners to learn the instrument – because only with a perfect alphorn can rapid progress be made.
Advanced players and professionals appreciate the intonation and accuracy of our alphorns and alphorn mouthpieces.
