MARTIGNY, Switzerland – Syrah walks slowly and deliberately on a treadmill submerged in a large water tank, as two therapists help keep her steady, and a crowd looks on in awe.

The eight-year-old St Bernard is receiving her regular hydrotherapy session, while visitors to the newly reopened Barryland theme park in the Swiss Alpine valley town of Martigny follow every move.

“We give hydrotherapy to older dogs or dogs that have undergone surgery,” said Barryland director Melanie Glassey-Roth.

“Everything here is conceived for the well-being of our dogs.”

Revamped from a smaller, “living museum” focused on St Bernards and after two years of work, Barryland has morphed into a large, interactive theme park fully dedicated to Switzerland’s national dog.

Built in the shape of a paw print, the main building offers interactive experiences and virtual-reality tours of the history and myths that surround the St Bernard, as well as the chance to interact with the big dogs themselves.

The park is hoping to see its visitor numbers soar to potentially 200,000 a year, up from 83,000 before the renovation.

The St Bernard breed, which reached a new level of stardom when it was featured in the 1992 blockbuster Hollywood comedy film Beethoven, was cross-bred into existence centuries ago in the Swiss Alps, not too far from where today’s theme park lies.

It was originally bred from farm dogs indigenous to the region by a hospice monastery – perched 2,500m above sea level – to use for rescue work in the perilous Great St Bernard Pass between Switzerland and Italy.

“This is an emblematic dog that represents the entire region,” said Mr Jean-Maurice Tornay, head of the Barry Foundation, which runs Barryland.

Barryland got its name from the most famous and heroic St Bernard of all.

Local lore holds that Barry, who lived from ...