618 Second Street

Summary

Chalet of the Golden Fleece
618 Second Street, New Glarus, Green County, WI
Date of Construction: 1937-38
Architect: J. Jacob Rieder

The Chalet of the Golden Fleece is an authentic Swiss Bernese mountain chalet. Designed by Swiss-born, New Glarus architect J. Jacob Rieder, the house reproduces the stylistic and decorative features of chalets erected in the German-speaking regions of the Swiss Alps, particularly in the canton of Bern, since the eighteenth century. Of particular note are the wooden board exterior, notched at the corners; the wrap-around balcony, its balustrade embellished with lace-like cut-outs; the casement windows with round, leaded-glass panes, accented with plank shutters and cut-out flower boxes; the roofs weighted down rocks, held in place by boards, which traditionally kept the alpine winds from blowing off the roof or its slates; a plastered chimney with a gabled roof; and horizontal bands of ornamentation in the gable ends, including German inscriptions. These inscriptions welcome visitors and remind them that life is short, and you can’t take anything with you when you die. On the interior, the dining room embodies Swiss chalet design, with pine paneling in alternating light and dark shades covering the walls, as well as the ceiling, where the panels are square and trapezoidal. In opposite corners is a built-in buffet, which Rieder carved with herringbone patterns and fitted into the elaborate ceiling molding, and a tall, “Nuremberg” stove.

The Chalet of the Golden Fleece was built for Edwin P. Barlow. Barlow, whose mother was a Swiss New Glarner, was the founder and guiding spirit of the Wilhelm Tell pageant, which has been performed in New Glarus every Labor Day weekend since 1938. The centerpiece of the pageant is Friedrich Schiller’s 1804 play, Wilhelm Tell, the tale of the legendary Swiss national hero and expert cross-bow marksman, who shot an arrow off his son’s head, and helped Switzerland gain its independence. The play was performed in German until 2010. The pageant also showcases other aspects of Swiss tradition, with authentic costumes, folk-dances, alpine horn and accordion music, and yodeling. The success of the Wilhelm Tell pageant, in which many local townspeople participated, bolstered New Glarner pride in Swiss heritage, inspiring additional efforts to promote Swiss culture, and leading to the development of “America’s Little Switzerland” as a tourist destination. Today the community has a distinctly Swiss appearance. Barlow gave the house and all its contents, including his extensive collection of Swiss antiques and furniture, to the Village of New Glarus to serve as a museum of Swiss culture. The Chalet is open by appointment from May through September.

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