361 – Industrialist's Villa from Burgdorf Berne, 1872
The house from Burgdorf is easily recognised as a high class villa. The family of the textile magnate Hans Schafroth lived here.
Out of place?
For once it’s not a farmhouse: the house from Burgdorf is easily recognised as a high class villa. The family of the textile magnate Hans Schafroth lived here. He was the master of several factories and hundreds of workers, head of a flourishing business, active in international trade.
Schafroth had his house built in 1872 in the city of Burgdorf near the newly finished railway line and transformed the surroundings into a representative park. Life in the Schafroth house was noble, complete with servants. What does all this have to do with farmhouses and the Ballenberg Open-Air Museum?
Architectural nostalgia
Farmhouses were the models for many villas of this kind. The rustic style of the chalet copied various elements of rural architecture. In the 19th century the so-called Swiss House style was internationally embraced. Imitations and borrowed elements sufficed to provide the wealthy occupants with a warm feeling of rural nature and innocence. The stately Chalet Schafroth is an early example of such architecture and well worth preservation, which with its playful decoration and gingerbread fretwork enjoyed great popularity. 100 years before, the idyllisation of the landscape and especially the Alps had made the “Swiss Tour” a European must.
Ballenberg
Swiss Open-Air Museum
Museumsstrasse 100
CH-3858 Hofstetten bei Brienz
Opening hours
10 April to 2 November 2025
10 am to 5 pm daily
