From here you have a good view to the former school building and the schoolyard. In old times, the church had to teach faith, and in rural areas this was limited to the catechization of children; the priest acted as teacher. Itinerant teachers taught the young people how to read and write. From 1675, a decree came into force that ruled that even children from poor families had to be taught in class. From 1717, negligent parents who violated the obligation to send their children to school were threatened with a fine. Until 1789, Mürren and Gimmelwald were one school district. They took turns in teaching the children one week in one village and the next in the other village. The children were taught five to seven hours of lessons per day, but only in winter.
In the summer, the school was shut, as the children had to help at home, and the teachers, who were also farmers, had to work their land. Every child had to bring a log to heat the oven in the morning. As early as 1799, the two schools separated due to disputes and the long way to school. In the beginning there weren't any school buildings as such. The teachers taught the children in their own houses. The subjects were reading, writing, singing, religion and memorizing. The books were bibles, books of prayer and the Heidelberg Catechism. Old documents tell that the knowledge of the teachers, in particular in Gimmelwald, was rather limited. The pupils were not even able to sing a psalm in the school exams in 1800. But this is not surprising, as the teachers' wages were so low that they could not even afford to buy a new coat or a new pair of shoes with the wages they had earned in the winter. In the middle of the 19th century, the first school building was built in Gimmelwald. Today, it is a residential house in the lower main street. The school building you can see here is already the second building. For a long time, two classes were taught here, later only one. The teachers lived on the upper floor. In the past, there used to be so-called official flats, because the teachers had to live in the village where they taught. In recent years, the number of pupils in all villages of the municipality has shrunk, so the school in Gimmelwald had to be closed. The school in Stechelberg suffered the same fate, and the school in Mürren is fighting for its survival. The smaller children in Gimmelwald and Stechelberg commute to Mürren by cable car every day, while older pupils are taught in Lauterbrunnen. The obligatory years at school and in kindergarten are eleven years nowadays. Most adolescents decide to start an apprenticeship when they finish school, preferably here in the area. Some go to secondary schools in Interlaken or even further away. This is the end of our village tour. We hope we could give you a good idea of our village and our life here, and that you will take fond memories home with you!