2025 Annual Report of the Ballenberg Foundation – The Swiss Open-Air Museum bloomed, resonated and moved
New perspectives on the treetop walkway, fragrant, blooming gardens next to historic buildings, and living traditions on the cultural stage: in 2025, the Swiss Open-Air Museum was a place to marvel, linger and enjoy for around 190,000 visitors. The museum is also on a solid financial footing, generating a profit of CHF 8,240.91.
At the Swiss Open-Air Museum, visitors can immerse themselves in a world of adventure, experience the unique atmosphere and find a place to escape to. In 2025, the annual theme “Biodiversity – Ballenberg in Bloom” created special experiences. Farm gardens enchanted with their colourful flower and vegetable beds, grain thrived in the fields and the forest path invited visitors on a journey of discovery in the shade of the trees. One of the highlights was the interactive station where children could build a small dry-stone wall with their own hands. Another was the newly opened treetop walkway with its eight-metre slide, which delighted young and old alike and offered visitors a chance to discover nature from a completely new perspective.
Around 190,000 guests visited Ballenberg in 2025, which corresponds to an increase of over 9% (previous year: 174,000 admissions). The Open-Air Museum’s successes included not just these new developments, but also solid results: the reported profit for 2025 is CHF 8,240.91. Ballenberg generates around 80% of its expenditure from its own resources. This creates financial security, especially at a time when federal funds are about to be cut. At the same time, the museum is pressing ahead with its development in the form of the planned new Visitor Centre at the West Entrance.
Highlights from the 2025 season
The new accessible Ballenberg train was used extensively to make the route through the museum’s expansive grounds easier. This fun and easy way to get around has been particularly well received by families and people with physical disabilities.
A newly created upkeep team has been up and running since spring 2025, moving from building to building, keeping roofs and façades in order and intervening where historic buildings need to be protected. Visitors can watch the experts at work to observe first-hand how historical techniques and designs are used today. Also new to the Ballenberg team is Patrick Wertmann, who has been Head of Science and Deputy CEO since September.
Over the course of the summer, the cultural stage brought the diversity of Swiss folk culture to the fore and transformed the Open-Air Museum into a showcase of lived tradition: every day, yodelling, alphorns, brass bands, choirs, folk dancing and accordion melodies provided a unique experience. Groups from all over Switzerland presented their skills.
The shell of the schoolhouse from Unterheid near Meiringen (Bern) was completed this season – meaning that the relocation of the 110th museum building has taken a big step forward. Guests found seeing the construction work fascinating and the site attracted a lot of visitors. Experts were also interested in the traditional lime techniques used to brick the walls of the schoolhouse.
Ballenberg
Swiss Open-Air Museum
Museumsstrasse 100
CH-3858 Hofstetten bei Brienz
Opening hours
9 April to 1 November 2026
10 am to 5 pm daily
Opening hours Administration
8 am to 6 pm daily
