History

In 1898, the merchant Albert Schild (*15.12.1873) and his wife Martha Elisabeth (*19.4.1874), née Michel, both from Brienz, opened their eponymous speciality shop in Interlaken.

The couple takes over the business premises, two magazines with separate entrances and exits to Bahnhofstrasse, from G.Jnvernizzi-Fuchs, who runs a second souvenir shop in Interlaken East.

The location at Bahnhofstrasse 19, directly on the main shopping mile, is ideal: not far from Interlaken West railway station, which was built in 1872, and the Grandhotel Victoria near the Höhematte.

ALBERT SCHILD benefits from the boom of early tourism in Interlaken. Many hotels and souvenir shops are built during the Belle Epoque. Albert and Martha Schild sell their own figurative woodcarvings and souvenir products made in Brienz. Albert’s sister, Elisabeth Kehrli-Schild, also runs a carving shop with her husband Jakob at Rugenparkstrasse 13 in Interlaken.

Albert and Martha have three children. Their daughters Martha (*23 February 1900) and Emma (*13 April 1902) are born in Brienz, and their son Ernst Albert is born in Interlaken on 15 May 1905.

In ALBERT SCHILD’s own workshop, artistic individual pieces are created in the tradition of Brienz arts and crafts. ALBERT SCHILD buys products for resale from numerous freelance artisans from all over the Bernese Oberland. These are often made according to plans that Albert Schild designs himself. He is a passionate draughtsman and a dedicated merchant who is in close contact with the woodcarvers. New ideas for woodcarvings are discussed, sketched and implemented.

These business relationships last for generations. Even today, for example, the wood sculptors Huggler-Wyss in Brienz or Trauffer in Hofstetten deliver their handicrafts to Interlaken at Bahnhofstrasse 19.

With the beginning of World War I, tourism and the souvenir trade suddenly cease. The turnover of ALBERT SCHILD collapses. The state (today: canton) of Berne specifically promotes the manufacture of toys. The Schnitzlerschule Brienz runs actual retraining courses for toy production. ALBERT SCHILD supplements its range with these wooden toys, which are bought by domestic tourists.

From 1920 onwards, the economy recovers and so do the numbers of tourist visitors. The turnover in the business premises on Bahnhofstrasse picks up again. A loyal clientele from France, England and even overseas emerges.

On 13 July 1927 Albert and Martha Schild buy the stately house at Bahnhofstrasse 19 from hotelier Eduard Krebs-Borter. The upper floors of the house are a modern dépandance of the Hotel Krebs opposite. The first floor becomes the Schild family’s flat. They now have short distances to the shop and workshop on the ground floor. In April 1931 ALBERT SCHILD rents two more magazines from his neighbour, the book and art printer Otto Schläfli. SCHILD had his catalogues printed at Schläfli’s, which he sent out to the retail trade. Adrian Frutiger, the creator of the Frutiger typeface, completes his apprenticeship as a typesetter in this print shop in the 1940s.

In 1933, a “Buddig” (=workshop) is built on the south side of the property. They now use the old workshops on the ground floor of the house as showrooms.

Because the hoteliers in Interlaken close their houses during the winter months, Albert and Martha Schild move to Montreux on Lake Geneva for the winter. For many years they ran a shop in the Montreux Palace.

In the first magazine in Interlaken, there is still an eight-cornered wooden table surrounded by six presidential wooden chairs. The ALBERT SCHILD also sells furniture made by Peter.M.Zurbriggen from Saas-Fee. Every week, the gentlemen of the Bödeli meet around this table to talk. Among them is Ulrich Fuchs, pastor of the church in Unterseen. One of his sons, Walther Paul, later marries Albert Schild’s eldest daughter, Martha. Their first child, Walter Andreas, becomes Ernst’s godchild. Walter often spends holidays with his godfather in Interlaken and helps out in the business.

The years before and during the Second World War are the second years of crisis in tourism and ALBERT SCHILD. The Schild family on Bahnhofstrasse reacts. Their “Buddig” proves to be a stroke of luck. On the initiative of son Ernst, by now a trained merchant, they start producing their own line of toys. SCHILD sells toys made in the Bernese Oberland to wholesalers and retailers according to its own designs under the brand name “Schild-Spielzeug” or “Berner Oberländer Heimarbeit”. They are present with a stand at the Mustermesse in Basel. Schild toys are best known for their varied alpine stables, carved animals, finely painted set-up villages and modernly designed vehicles, and are sold for many years in toy shops, including Franz Carl Weber in Zurich. Today, the widespread carved, hand-painted, red wooden cow with leather ears is still known.

Martha Elisabeth died in 1941 and Albert Schild in 1949. Their son Ernst Albert continues the sole proprietorship. During these years and until the end of the 1960s, it is the guests from Great Britain and the USA who form the largest group of buyers of ALBERT SCHILD. Later, the Germans, Swiss and French also enjoy the qualitative products. Wooden and ivory carvings, ceramics from old Thun and wooden toys are packed well in wood wool and sent in wooden boxes all over the world every day. The assortment of toys is supplemented by tin toys and Steiff soft toys.

Ernst Schild dies in 1973 without any descendants. His nephew and godchild Walter Andreas Fuchs (*11.3.1929) and his wife Charlotte (*28.11.1931), née Schmid, continue the business. The company now becomes a family limited company. They appoint a local managing director, as Walter Fuchs pursues his profession in Bern and later in Zurich. Schläfli printing company wants to use the two magazines rented from SCHILD himself. This comes in handy because in the mid-1970s there is a recession in Switzerland and sales are declining. In the two remaining magazines, Walter and Charlotte Fuchs continue to focus on handicrafts such as those made by Linck-Keramik or the ceramics of Ueli Schmutz. The carvings and toys remain important mainstays. With their choice of assortment, they want to emphasise “Swissness” more strongly. For now the triumphant advance of cheap plastic toys and mass-produced goods in the souvenir trade is beginning.

When Walter Fuchs dies in November 1995, his youngest son and trained businessman Kaspar takes over the traditional house and continues to run it in the 4th generation. The local business is again run by a manager, as he lives in Zurich with his wife Simone. The in-house productions are discontinued. They are no longer profitable. Kaspar Fuchs remains true to the guiding principle that has been in place for 100 years: “tradition and quality”. The products should continue to impress with their material, their function and usefulness as well as their design. They should pass on quality and meaning with the assortment and trigger joy. In addition to the wooden carvings and toys, Swiss made souvenir articles and accessories are now added to the range. A gentle renovation of the business premises is intended to keep the original charm of the turn of the century alive. In 2005, the World Expo takes place in Aichi, Japan. There, the Swiss Pavilion sells the famous carved wooden cows that Ernst Schild once developed.

In 2001, Kaspar Fuchs opened a small branch in Zurich’s old town at Schipfe 49, which he operated until 2007. From 2006 to 2016, the ALBERT SCHILD branch rented space in the Swiss National Museum and ran the museum shop. The assortment from Interlaken fits very well into the National Museum. It is specifically adapted four times a year to the changing exhibitions in the museum.

At the same time, business in Interlaken develops successfully, but this changes abruptly with the pandemic in 2020 and 2021. International tourism suddenly stops. The strategy of not only relying on foreign customers but also stocking products such as toys for local customers pays off. ALBERT SCHILD AG also survives this difficult period.

2023 is the anniversary year. ALBERT SCHILD AG celebrates its 125th anniversary. A small exhibition in the Tourism Museum in Unterseen shows the history of ALBERT SCHILD, from its beginnings to the present day.