Swiss chalet style (german: Schweizerstil, no, Sveitserstil) is an

architectural style An architectural style is a set of characteristics and features that make a building or other structure notable or historically identifiable. It is a sub-class of style in the visual arts generally, and most styles in architecture relate closely ...

of Late Historicism, originally inspired by rural

chalet A chalet (pronounced in British English; in American English usually ), also called Swiss chalet, is a type of building or house, typical of the Alpine region in Europe. It is made of wood, with a heavy, gently sloping roof and wide, well-suppo ...

s in Switzerland and the

Alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...

(mountainous) regions of

Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the a ...

. The style refers to traditional building designs characterised by widely projecting roofs and facades richly decorated with wooden balconies and carved ornaments. It spread over

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

during the Belle Époque era.

History

Swiss chalet style originated in the Romantic era of the late 18th- and early 19th-century, when the ideas of the

English landscape garden The English landscape garden, also called English landscape park or simply the English garden (french: Jardin à l'anglaise, it, Giardino all'inglese, german: Englischer Landschaftsgarten, pt, Jardim inglês, es, Jardín inglés), is a sty ...

inspired parks and residences in Germany, such as the

Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm The Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm, (German: ''Dessau-Wörlitzer Gartenreich'') is a cultural landscape and World Heritage Site in Germany, located between the city of Dessau and the town of Wörlitz in Central Germany. One of the first and larges ...

. It became highly appreciated on the continent by noble landowners who were impressed by the "simple life" of people living in the mountains. The chalet style soon spread over the German ''

Mittelgebirge A ''Mittelgebirge'' (German: ''Mittel'', "middle/medium"; ''Gebirge'', "mountain range") is a type of relatively low mountain range or highland area typical of the geography of central Europe, especially central and southern Germany; it refers to ...

'' landscapes such as the

Harz The Harz () is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' derives from the Middle High German ...

mountains or the

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

area and the adjacent North Bohemian region. As a "modern" building style, it also influenced the

resort architecture Resort architecture (german: Bäderarchitektur) is an architectural style that is especially characteristic of spas and seaside resorts on the German Baltic coast. The style evolved since the foundation of Heiligendamm in 1793, and flourished espec ...

along the

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages * Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...

seaside, like in

Binz Binz is the largest seaside resort on the German island of Rügen. It is situated between the bay of Prorer Wiek and the ''Schmachter See'' (a lake) in the southeast of the island. To the north of Binz stretches the Schmale Heide (the "narrow he ...

Heringsdorf Heringsdorf is a semi-urban municipality and a popular seaside resort on Usedom Island in Western Pomerania, Germany. It is also known by the name Kaiserbad ('' en, Imperial Spa''). The municipality was formed in January 2005 out of the former ...

. Around 1900, design elements were used in the construction of numerous bourgeois family homes as well as by notable architects like

Heinrich von Ferstel Freiherr Heinrich von Ferstel (7 July 1828 14 July 1883) was an Austrian architect and professor, who played a vital role in building late 19th-century Vienna. Life The son of Ignaz Ferstel (17961866), a bank clerk and later director of the ...

to build larger mansions and hotels. The style was further popularized by the first waves of tourism of rich people from the North and West of Europe and became popular in other parts of Europe and North America, notably in the

architecture of Norway The architecture of Norway has evolved in response to changing economic conditions, technological advances, demographic fluctuations and cultural shifts. While outside architectural influences are apparent in much of Norwegian architecture, they ...

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

and

the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and in the country house architecture of Sweden and Cincinnati (Ohio, USA), in the late 19th and early 20th century. English examples of the chalet style include the

Boathouse at Belton House The Boathouse on Boathouse Pond, Belton House, Belton, Lincolnshire was designed by Anthony Salvin in 1838–1839. It is a Grade II listed building. History John Cust, 1st Earl Brownlow, owner of Belton House from 1807 to 1853 commissioned Salvi ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...

, by

Anthony Salvin Anthony Salvin (17 October 1799 – 17 December 1881) was an English architect. He gained a reputation as an expert on medieval buildings and applied this expertise to his new buildings and his restorations. He restored castles and country h ...

and the Swiss Cottage at Osbourne House, on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

, constructed for

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

's children.

Characteristics

The style is characterized by: *

gabled roof A gable roof is a roof consisting of two sections whose upper horizontal edges meet to form its ridge. The most common roof shape in cold or temperate climates, it is constructed of rafters, roof trusses or purlins. The pitch of a gable roof ca ...

s with wide eaves * exposed construction beams, including large

brackets A bracket is either of two tall fore- or back-facing punctuation marks commonly used to isolate a segment of text or data from its surroundings. Typically deployed in symmetric pairs, an individual bracket may be identified as a 'left' or ' ...

* decorative carving and mouldings * balconies * large windows *

weatherboarding Clapboard (), also called bevel siding, lap siding, and weatherboard, with regional variation in the definition of these terms, is wooden siding of a building in the form of horizontal boards, often overlapping. ''Clapboard'' in modern Americ ...

, usually painted, often in bright colors

Gallery

File:ER-Burgberg-old-villa.jpg, Villa in

Erlangen Erlangen (; East Franconian: ''Erlang'', Bavarian: ''Erlanga'') is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the administrative district Erlangen-Höchstadt (former administrative district Erlangen), and with 116,062 inhab ...

File:Villa Eschebach Weißer Hirsch Dresden.JPG, Villa Eschebach in

File:Kviknes hotel.jpg,

Kviknes Hotel Kviknes Hotel is a hotel, located by the Sognefjord in Sogndal Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The hotel has 195 rooms in total which are divided between two buildings. The historic building was completed in 1913 and has 25 rooms, while ...

in Balestrand, Norway, planned by Franz Wilhelm Schiertz in 1894 File:Valkenburg-Neerhem 68 (1).JPG, Hotel Rooding in Valkenburg (1892), designed by

Pierre Cuypers Petrus Josephus Hubertus "Pierre" Cuypers (16 May 1827 – 3 March 1921) was a Dutch architect. His name is most frequently associated with the Amsterdam Central Station (1881–1889) and the Rijksmuseum (1876–1885), both in Amsterdam. ...

File:Edwin J. Marshall Residence, exterior views, 2019 - DPLA - e6b55e705f77e84d953846f0f45c74ab (page 2).jpg, alt=Exterior view of Swiss Chalet Style residence located in Toledo, Ohio. Photo taken in 2019., The Edwin J. Marshall Residence in Toledo, Ohio, designed by the Mills, Rhines, Bellman and Nordhoff architecture firm in 1912

References

Cincinnati Swiss Chalet houses
Architectural styles Architecture in Norway * Belle Époque {{Revivals

History

Characteristics

Gallery

See also

References