Swiss Open-Air Museum

Ballenberg is a Swiss open-air museum that shows traditional buildings and architecture from around the country. Ballenberg, located near Brienz in the municipality of Hofstetten bei Brienz, Canton of Bern, features about 100 historic structures that have been relocated from their original locations. It is a national heritage site in Switzerland.

Not all museums are housed in structures. Visitors to the Swiss Open-Air Museum in Ballenberg can wander through and around approximately 100 rural residences and agricultural structures from all across Switzerland. All of the structures at the museum are authentic, having been dismantled from their original location and rebuilt in Ballenberg. It's the closest tourists can go to experiencing old Swiss life.

Around 250 animals roam the grounds, providing an extra dimension of realism to the area. Aside from the houses, the museum also features gardens, meadows, and pastures based on historical models to provide visitors with a view of rural Switzerland in the past.

Location: Museumsstrasse 131, Hofstetten bei Brienz, BE 3858

Website: ballenberg.ch/en