Sprawled out over an area of 66 hectares, the Ballenberg Open-Air Museum is a microcosm of all things Swiss rural tradition and history. The museum displays about 100 historic buildings from various regions set at different times, all carefully reconstructed in the scenic foothills of the Alps.
The Ballenberg Open-Air Museum first opened in 1978 with only 16 wooden chalets and barns. Over time, stables, bakeries, mills, a chapel, half-timbered townhouses were relocated here brick by brick. Set amongst flower gardens and crop fields, these quintessential Swiss buildings create a convincing 17th-century rural landscape. Think horses and cows (with tinkling bells) roaming free, and costumed characters farming the land, making cheese, and chocolate.
There are also exhibitions of clothing, tools, and herbal medicines, plenty of craft demonstrations, and picturesque mountain vistas to fall in love with.
