History
In 1921 the Chief Scout of Switzerland, Walther von Bonstetten, visited Kandersteg on holiday and found an old empty chalet. It was built in 1908 to house the construction workers for the Lötschberg Tunnel. In 1913, when the tunnel was finished, the chalet was left unused by the railway company. Von Bonstetten felt that this location could be the permanent international meeting place that Robert Baden-Powell had in mind where Scouts from all over the world could meet. Von Bonstetten wrote to him to let him know what he had found. The response was positive and in February 1923 the Scouts International Home Association was set up; on 12 April 1923 the chalet and adjacent land were bought for CHF 15,100, and the International Scout Centre came into existence. In 1930 Baden-Powell visited the site himself.
Up to current times, the site has continuously been augmented, with the first national room, 'the Dutch room' in 1927, and the purchase of additional land in 1929. During World War II, the centre was used to house French soldiers interned for the war. In the 1950s more property was purchased, including the woods by the river Kander, and the centre began to open also in the wintertime. The centre was renamed Kandersteg International Scout Centre in 1977. In the 1980s, new campsites were created, together with extra toilet facilities, although the centre went through a difficult time financially. In 1994, the International Scout Centre Foundation, Kandersteg was established, and work started on the chalet extension project which opened on 1 June 1996. On December 2002, the top floor of the New Chalet was finished, completing the chalet extension, followed by new bathroom renovations two years later. In 2009, the centre opened a new accommodation building named Kander-Lodge, purchased the neighbouring building, Sunneblick, and fully renovated the ground floor of the Old Chalet.
Read more about this topic: Kandersteg International Scout Centre
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