The Höhematte is the reason Interlaken has a view. Fourteen hectares of meadow in the middle of the town, empty since 1864 — not by planning policy, but by a private contract that has outlived every hotel around it.
Quick Facts
- Elevation
- 567.7 m
- Getting There
- 10 min on foot from Interlaken Ost
- Duration
- 30–60 min
- Price
- Free
- Season
- Year-round
- Best for
- Photographs, breaks, watching the landings
Journey time checked
Why nothing stands here
In 1864 thirty-seven residents of the Bödeli bought the meadow from the canton of Bern and secured it with an easement carrying an absolute ban on building, subdivision and felling. That is the crucial detail and the one most descriptions get wrong: this is not a municipal zoning decision that a later council could revise. It is a private-law contract, and it still holds.
The effect is visible from the Höheweg: hotels on one side, mountains on the other, and fourteen hectares of nothing in between. Every other town in this valley built on its view.
Where the paragliders land
On summer afternoons the meadow is the landing ground for the tandem flights that start above Beatenberg. Watching them come in costs nothing and is the most reliable free entertainment in town — the flights sell by height gained rather than by minutes, so they arrive continuously rather than in waves. The buying side of that is a separate question, and a separate page: paragliding over Interlaken.
What it is good for
Twenty minutes to cross, an hour if you sit down. The Höhematte is not a destination in the way the mountain railways are; it is where you end up between them. That is also its value: 10 minutes on foot from Interlaken Ost, free, and open in any weather that you are willing to stand in.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Höhematte?
Fourteen hectares of open meadow in the middle of Interlaken, kept clear of buildings since 1864. It is the reason the town has a view at all: from the Höheweg you look across it straight at the Jungfrau, with nothing in between.
Why has nothing been built on it?
Because of a private contract, not a zoning plan. In 1864 thirty-seven residents of the Bödeli bought the meadow from the canton of Bern and secured it with an easement carrying an absolute ban on building, subdivision and felling trees. That easement still holds — which is why the most valuable open space in the town has stayed open through 160 years of hotel construction.
Is it free?
Yes, entirely. It is a meadow with paths, benches and a view. In summer the paragliders land on it, which is free to watch and is the closest thing Interlaken has to a permanent free attraction.
How long do you need?
Twenty minutes to cross it, an hour if you sit down. It is not a destination in the sense of the mountain railways — it is the place you end up between them, and 10 minutes on foot from Interlaken Ost is the whole journey.
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