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Ballenberg, Swiss Open-Air Museum – Sightseeing Switzerland! Our homes, stables and barns are in hibernation. We will once again be open every day from 11 April 2024.
Locking up alone won’t do the trick
Many tasks must be performed before a Ballenberg building is ready for the winter break. These activities are grouped together under the term “winterisation”. These wide-ranging tasks primarily facilitate the protection of cultural heritage and are an important part of a museum’s work.
News from the Swiss Open-Air Museum
Working and cooking with our own wood
During the winter months, staff in the museum’s forest are hard at work chopping down trees. They make sure that enough fuel will be available for all the kilns in the upcoming season and that the craftspeople can use this raw material to produce their products.
Support the Open-Air Museum
Vitra exhibition
Can you live in a listed building? The dwelling from Matten BE (1021), converted in 2007, shows how a historic building can be modified in a contemporary, homely way, while preserving its original features. The furniture has been provided by Swiss furniture company Vitra.
Object collection – Over 45'000 objects
In order to furnish the buildings, the Ballenberg Open-Air Museum collects objects from rural life and farming from the time before agriculture began to become motorised (before 1950). These items and related secondary information of all kinds relate to earlier ways of living, social structures and economic activities in the farming community, as well as crafts and commerce. Our collection currently holds over 45'000 objects.
All you need for planning your visit
Ballenberg
Swiss Open-Air Museum
Museumsstrasse 100
CH-3858 Hofstetten bei Brienz
Opening hours
11 April to 27 October 2024
10 am to 5 pm daily
