931 – Dwelling from Wattwil, Saint Gall, 1455/18th Century
This Toggenburger house belongs to the oldest rural buildings extant in the East Midlands.
Rare Bird
The wood for the heart of the building was felled in 1450–1454. This Toggenburger house therefore belongs to the oldest rural buildings extant in the East Midlands. The centuries show in the weathered outer walls. The generations of occupants of “auf der Egeten”, between Lichtensteig and Wattwil, also left traces behind and rebuilt the house to suit their needs. As smallholders and cottage industry workers they belonged to the lower classes, so-called common people.
Back to the Original
In 1748 the house was enlarged, clad with shingles and a steeper roof put on. With the new tall gable and full shingling, the building looked quite different. When rebuilding in the Ballenberg Open-Air Museum we removed these alterations. The original “Tätschdach” squat roof and the old uncovered walls are visible as they were in the late Middle Ages. We did leave the windows with their shutters from the 18th–19th century, also the weaving cellar installed in the 16th–17th century, important evidence of economic history. Cotton fabric making and linen weaving in cottage industry enabled small farmers to augment their meagre income until the 18th century.
Insights
The core of the building displays two types of construction: the walls of the ground floor stand on a stone foundation and are partially in squared timber and partially in timber frame construction with plank infilling. The upper storey is entirely in timber frame construction. In the interior, tiny rooms, which would have been sparsely furnished, testify to a very simple country life at the end of the Middle Ages.
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
