The Old Smithy, Charmey

Parc naturel régional Gruyère Pays-d'Enhaut - With its furnace, anvil and rows of hammers all still intact, the Old Smithy in Charmey bears witness to the generations of craftsmen who once faithfully served the local farming community. Frédy Roos, son of the village’s last farrier, has lovingly preserved the workshop, which looks exactly as it would have done in the early 1900s (1919–1930).

A single motor, with leather transmission belts tied around a tree, drives the drill press, threader, mechanical saw, emery wheel and sledgehammer. These and all the other essential tools of the trade contained within the forge’s four walls, now blackened by decades of soot from the furnace and the smoke from the hooves of the freshly shod horses, wait for the blacksmith to pick up his work where he left off the day before.

The mission of the “Friends of the Old Smithy Charmey” is to preserve, use and enhance the value of this forge. The association organises guided tours of the workshop and demonstrations, on request.