The Cattle Barn was built in 1501 and is the oldest known farm building in Central Switzerland that is free-standing, i.e. not integrated into a multi-purpose building.
This barn was built on the “Weid” farm in 1501. It stood nearly half a century there and is now the oldest known utility building in Central Switzerland that was free-standing, i.e. not integrated into a multipurpose building. In 1989 the farm was torn down to make room for a building project. The barn migrated to the Ballenberg Open-Air Museum.
The structural skeleton with its columns and morticed-in beams is largely intact. Originally the barn had a squat “Tätschdach” roof. In 1799 it was rebuilt, including a cellar, a more steeply pitched roof and an extension. The older part was incorporated into the rebuilt structure – as building within building. The new construction employed used timber, as was then common.
The eastern addition, separated from the old part by a passageway, accomodated a fruit press. Presumably a big lever press was installed but is no longer extant. The press displayed here documents a step toward modernisation: it is electrically driven. According to an inscription it too comes from Canton Lucerne, namely from Martin Strebel of Hitzkirch and dates from 1905.
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