Annual Theme 2025: Biodiversity – Ballenberg in Bloom!

Experience nature: biodiversity at the Open-Air Museum 

Along the 10 km Discovery Trail, much more than historical architecture, traditional craftsmanship and farm animals await you. We present, via nine discovery stations, the diversity of life and how this connects to the countryside and building culture. Learn how nature and humans have been interacting for centuries and how landscape management can promote biodiversity.

Discovery Trail stations

• Giving Insects a Head Start
  By mowing late and leaving uncut refuge strips, meadows remain a valuable habitat. This meadow is mown with a scythe between late May and early June. You can still sign up for our scything course (in German) and have a go yourself. An information board, alongside a panel showing a diagram of the mowing process carved in relief, depicts how the meadow should be maintained, while a scythe references the traditional mowing method. The meadow is next to the Alter Bären Restaurant (311).
• Colourful Companions for the Grain
  An experiment: cereals grow in harmony with biodiversity and enhance soil fertility. There is a platform from which you can look out over the field, while an information board and an illustration showing segetal flora (wild plants that grow near crops) provide further information. The field is next to the house from Madiswil (321).
• Blossoming and Buzzing from Spring to Autumn
  A formerly species-poor meadow and Benjes hedge become a valuable habitat for many animals. On International Museum Day (18 May), we are planning to plant flowers in this meadow in collaboration with Verterra. Discover which flowers we plant by turning the wheel. In the flower barrels you will find more names, and there is more information on the information board. This station is located behind the house from La Chaux-de-Fonds (111).
• Creating and Allowing Niches
  Diverse structures made of wood and stone provide habitats for numerous plants and animals. The partition walls draw attention to their main structural elements. At a workbench above an old wall, you can get your hands dirty and build one of these stone structures yourself. An information board provides further details. This station is near the farmhouse from Tentligen (511).
• Stony and Dry? A Paradise!
  The poorer the soil, the greater the variety of flora and fauna that live here. In the meadow you will discover many different plants, which have different flowering times and are a rich source of food for our sheep. An information board and three frames invite visitors to discover the diverse flora. The meadow is behind the ruins of the farmhouse from Primadengo/Faido (811).
• Live and Let Grow
  Traditionally built dwellings provide habitats for flora and fauna. Here you can search for plants that thrive in wall crevices and dry walls. Perhaps you will even find a lizard. Four frames offer views of the variety of vegetation in the wall crevices. You can look at them closely using magnifying glasses. Further information is available on a text board. You will find this station at the house from Cugnasco (841).
• An Ancient “Residence”
  Large, solitary trees are valuable, versatile habitats. A platform leads under an old oak, which is covered with ivy and moss, amongst other things. Once on the parapet, you can touch dead wood that has become a habitat, and see an oak in a state of decay, which in turn benefits various organisms. The old oak awaits you next to the house from Eschholzmatt (741).
• Living Fences
  Hedges provide food, shelter and nesting sites for many animals and act as natural windbreaks. From the platform and along the path, you can quietly observe the hedge and look for the plants and animals that are hiding in it or are depicted in the drawings. The platform for observing the hedge is at the house from Brienz (1031).
• More Life among the Vines
  Verdant vineyards provide a habitat for plants, reptiles and insects, while protecting the soil from erosion. The many small signs name the flowers that thrive in and around the vineyard. Further information can be found on a text board. The Valais vineyard can be found at the chapel from Turtig/Raron (1131).

At each station, visitors can participate in our work to preserve our habitats. Visit our Open-Air Museum and discover how valuable these habitats are to nature and people!

The stations were developed in cooperation with the Biodiversity Forum of the Swiss Academy of Sciences (SCNAT) to ensure an unforgettable experience full of learning and inspiration.