Brienz - Swiss Open-Air Museum of Rural Life

(Local Name: Musée suisse en plein air) The main entrance of the Swiss Open-air Museum of Rural Life, northeast of Brienz, is reached by road via Schwanden in Hofstetten (parking; bus service from Brienz; side-entrance in Brienzeiler.) The extensive grounds cover some 50 ha/124 acres of Alpine countryside on the Ballenberg. A series of regional groups, some still in course of construction, display the traditional way of life in different parts of Switzerland in old houses and other buildings brought here from their original sites, with appropriate furniture, utensils and implements. Old crafts and traditional customs have also been revived. A tour (guide available by prior arrangement) through the museum lasts 2.5-3 hours.