Ballenberg
title: "Ballenberg" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["open-air-museums", "museums-in-the-canton-of-bern", "history-museums-in-switzerland", "cultural-property-of-national-significance-in-the-canton-of-bern", "outdoor-structures-in-switzerland"] topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballenberg" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox museum"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Ballenberg |
| image | Ballenberg - Bernese Midlands House - Ben W Bell 31 Aug 2005.jpg |
| caption | A Bernese Midlands area house in Ballenberg |
| map_type | Canton of Bern#Switzerland |
| coordinates | |
| established | |
| dissolved | |
| location | Hofstetten bei Brienz, Brienzwiler, Bern, Switzerland |
| type | Open-air museum |
| key_holdings | Swiss farm houses |
| website | |
| embedded | {{designation list |
| designation1 | Swiss |
| :: |
| name = Ballenberg | image = Ballenberg - Bernese Midlands House - Ben W Bell 31 Aug 2005.jpg | alt = | caption = A Bernese Midlands area house in Ballenberg | map_type = Canton of Bern#Switzerland | coordinates = | established = | dissolved = | location = Hofstetten bei Brienz, Brienzwiler, Bern, Switzerland | type = Open-air museum | accreditation = | key_holdings = Swiss farm houses | collections = | collection_size = | visitors = | founder = | executive_director = | leader_type = | leader = | director = | president = | ceo = | chairperson = | curator = | architect = | historian = | owner = | publictransit = | car_park = | parking = | network = | website = | embedded = {{designation list | embed=yes | designation1 = Swiss
Ballenberg is an open-air museum in Switzerland that displays traditional buildings and architecture from all over the country. Located near Brienz in the municipality of Hofstetten bei Brienz, Canton of Bern, Ballenberg has over 100 original buildings that have been transported from their original sites. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.
In addition to the main attraction of the buildings themselves, some of the industrial and crafting buildings still operate to give demonstrations of traditional rural crafts, techniques and cheesemaking. There is also a sizable number of farmyard animals in the grounds.
Founded in 1978, Most buildings allow the visitor to walk around the rooms, each recreated from the time period of the building or brought over wholesale when the building was transplanted.
The museum is divided into the various regions of Switzerland with the structures carefully chosen to give a view of traditional architecture from those areas. The regions represented are:
- Alpine - the higher mountain areas of the cantons of Bern, Graubünden, Nidwalden, Obwalden and Valais
- Bernese Midlands - from the central region of the Canton of Bern.
- Bernese Oberland - the higher areas of southern Canton of Bern.
- Central Midlands - the central region of the Canton of Aargau.
- Central Switzerland - cantons of Nidwalden, Obwalden and parts of Luzern, Schwyz, Uri and Zug.
- East Midlands - the Canton of Zurich and some areas of the cantons of Schaffhausen and Thurgau.
- Eastern Switzerland - the central valley areas of Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Appenzell Innerrhoden and St. Gallen.
- Jura - the central regions of the cantons of Jura, Neuchâtel and the northern areas of Vaud.
- The Valais - the valley areas of the Canton of Valais.
- Ticino - the central areas of Ticino.
- West Midlands - central Fribourg and Vaud.
References
References
- "Open Air Museum Ballenberg". Swiss office of tourism.
- (1 January 2018). "Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance". Federal Office for Cultural Protection (BABS).
- "Ballenberg". Switzerland Mobility.
- Reinhard, Kristin. "Switzerland with families: Visit Ballenberg". Swiss Family Travel.
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