Beekeeping
Some of the smallest animals which live at the Ballenberg Open-Air Museum are the bees. The bee colonies are housed in various beehives around the grounds. The most attractive one of all is the Apiary from Gwatt BE (383). With its richly decorated façade and painted-on windows it looks just like a dolls’ house.
Exhibition: Bees and beekeeping
The exhibition which can be seen in the Barn from Faulensee BE (341) deals with many aspects of the complex lives of bees, and traces the history of the development of beekeeping. Bees have always played a key role in farming, not just because they produce honey, wax and other natural products such as royal jelly, but above all because of the role they play in blossom pollination. Honey bees are the major pollinators of fruit and berry crops and of wild flowers.
Some of the bee colonies are housed in the Barn from Faulensee, and the Ballenberg beekeepers there regularly demonstrate the various tasks associated with beekeeping.
Ballenberg
Swiss Open-Air Museum
Museumsstrasse 100
CH-3858 Hofstetten bei Brienz
Opening hours
9 April to 1 November 2026
10 am to 5 pm daily
Opening hours Administration
8 am to 6 pm daily
