To protect a force-measuring device from being damaged by an overload, the load receiver (27) has a first part (56) that receives the force to be measured and a second part (57) that transfers the force to a measuring transducer. The two parts, together with two parallel guide members (58, 59) by which they are connected, are portions of a monolithic material block that are separated from each other by a material-free space (55) in the form of a thin linear cut. A pre-tensioned elastic element (78) urging the two parts (56, 57) into spring-loaded engagement is arranged inside a cavity of the second part (57).