In the 17th century, the area between the Briensersee and Thunersee (Bödeli) was dominated by a monastery. Each January 2nd, the youth, dressed in masks, gathered at the gates, where they received 12 mass (liter) wine, 12 loaves of bread, and 5 Churerbatzen (coins I believe), as a "guet Jahresgab" (annual offer). Originally, it was an offer to the dead. Called “Chlummeln”, it’s intent was to dispel the bad spirits.
On the Bödeli, the Chlummeln degenerated into warfare between rival youth gangs from Interlaken, Matten and Unterseen. On January 2nd, 1955, Hans Hofer evidently had enough. He called Ernst Finger, who said of the gang fights on the Marktplatz: "Das isch doch ä Souerei, da sött me öppis drgäge tue!" (Roughly translated: That sucks, we’ve got to nip it in the bud). He went on to say: "Also, de chum doch abe i' Bäre!" (Let’s go to the Inn!). There, together with the innkeeper, Willy Frei, they set out to redesign Chlummeln
Being Swiss, they formed a committee (mostly people living near the Marktplatz). Not wanting to simply do away with an old custom, and still giving the youth a bit of fun (and reason to participate), albeit in a controlled form, they hijacked the story of the Hardermannli, mixing it with the Chlummeln, and the Harder-Potschete was born.
To make the Hardermannli the central figure of the new custom, they asked Hans Trauffer, a woodcarver from Brienz, to design a mask based on the stone face of old Leonhardus* looking down from the mountain. A prize is also offered each year for the best masks, and a fixed program was developed for the Potschete, which was very similar to today’s version.
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