The production of household remedies
At the Craftsmen’s House from Herzogenbuchsee BE (381) and in the Stöckli (382) (the all-purpose outhouse on a farm) from Köniz, it’s all about naturopathic medicine and the history of the druggist's profession in Switzerland. The central feature is the herb garden in which many plants are grown, for use either in the production of natural fragrant essences and care products or as natural healing remedies, as has been the case since time immemorial. On several week-ends every year in the old chemist’s shop of the Küpfer family in the Stöckli from Köniz, the druggists demonstrate how home remedies are produced, using the old recipes. In addition, the Medicinal Herb Days, which take place each summer, represent a special attraction.
Home remedies produced in the museum
The main attraction in this world of herbs and tinctures is the Historical Drugstore from Herzogenbuchsee (381). Here you can buy some of the tried and tested products produced in traditional fashion in the museum. These products include, for example, roll-on ribwort which helps against insect bites, or the liquid chervil preparation which in folk medicine was known as a remedy for blood disorders. The plants grow directly behind the drugstore. Other favourites are products such as marigold ointment, tincture of arnica or syrup of thyme. Knowledge of the healing properties of certain plants was widespread in past centuries. Farming families either produced various remedies themselves or delivered the herbs to the drugstore. “We want to show how simple and natural the production of these remedies was”, says drugist Beni Haslebacher.
What-you-call-its
Other products are also available in the little shop. Haslebacher calls them the “What-you-call-its“ which are practically unobtainable nowadays, such as the twisted barley malt sugar sticks or Wybert tablets. The furnishings and fittings in the Ballenberg drugstore come from La Chaux-de-Fonds. The drugstore is, in fact, the original shop area of the Droguerie Robert Tissot, which was in operation until 1955.
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
