Velogemel - Jungfrau Region

2 The inventor – Christian Bühlmann (1872 – 1953)
Christian Bühlmann was born in Beatenberg on August 5th 1872. As a child he
suffered from polio, leaving him slightly crippled. After school he attended a
class for woodcarving in Brienz. As his father ran a sawmill in Beatenberg,
Bühlmann was also at home in this trade. After his marriage he moved to
Wilderswil where he built his own house. At the same time he acquired a
sawmill between Wilderswil and Zweilütschinen. He ran this mill and created
various woodcarvings besides.
At the end of 1898 he moved with his family to Schwendi in Grindelwald. There he bought the old,
dilapidated sawmill and an old house. From then on Christian Bühlmann operated the sawmill in
Schwendi. In 1918 he lost his left hand in an accident at work.
In the 1950’s Rudolf Rubi, Bühlmann’s nephew and qualified carpenter, joined the business. He was
followed by his brother Werner, also a carpenter. On Christian Bühlmann’s death on 19 May 1953 the
Rubi brothers took over the sawmill and carpentry
The Patent Specification
On April 1st 1911 at 2 pm Christian Bühlmann, the carpenter from Grindelwald, entered the Patent
Office in Bern to apply for a patent for his bike-like, wooden sledge. The clerks probably thought it was
an April Fool’s joke, but Bühlmann was far from joking. He called his invention a «Steerable Sport Sled
with in-line Runners» in the patent specification.
Abbildung 3: Patent of 1911
Jungfrau Region / Grindelwald, Wengen, Mürren, Lauterbrunnen
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