Emmental Attractions
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The Emmental (Emme valley), renowned for its cheese, is a fertile farming region extending east from Berne towards the Napf (1,408 m/4,620ft), with a characteristic way of life which was described in the works of the 19th C. novelist Jeremias Gotthelf (Albert Bitzius), who was pastor at Lützelflüh. Until about 1800 it was thought that good cheese could be made only from the milk of the Alps; but the first cheese dairies in the valleys were then established in the Emmental, and the excellent cheese produced there is now exported far and wide.
Farmhouse Gardens
Formal box-edged hedges have been laid out to create this Swiss farmhouse garden.
Burgdorf, Switzerland
Burgdorf (alt. 533 m/1,749ft: pop. 16,000), a fine town northeast of Berne, is the real gateway to the Emmental. Sights in the town include fine old guild-houses, a picturesque arcaded market, the cantonal technical college, the Swiss Costume Collection and the Swiss Confederation Yodelling room.Ethnological collections are also on show in Kirchbühl. There is an attractive marked walk from Binzberg to Wynigen.
Castle Museum
Burgdorf's 10th C. castle of the Zähringen family has three towers. It is now a historical museum.
Parish Church
The late Gothic parish church in Burgdorf was built in 1490. Its organ gallery has interesting sandstone tracery.
Burgdorf (Grafenscheuren - Hornuss Festival)
This two-day festival focuses on the Hornuss, the traditional rural sport of Switzerland, and takes place in these two towns in late August.
Museum of Ethnology
A presentation of the cultures of North and South America, Japan, Africa, Oceania and Egypt.
Swiss Museum and Institute for Folk Music and Musical Instruments
The Swiss Museum and Institute for Folk Music and Musical Instruments is housed in an 18th C. granary in Burgdorf.
