To many, the rustic lakeside villages and highland settlements Switzerland is most famous for appear to have been trapped in time. But look closer and you will find that the timber houses and sprawling farms of old have inevitably been replaced by villas and industrial complexes. In the Ballenberg Swiss Open Air Museum, these treasures still live on, a vibrant and thriving community that is sure to quench your thirst to understand the past.

Over the clap of horse hooves against the cobbled ground, you are now being brought on a horse drawn carriage through the Swiss streets of the 1900s. Wooden crosspieces create astounding latticework against the plastered brick walls, pine beams holding up the shingled roofs painted a rich brown. Gardens with trellis overgrown with open blooms of blue with jeweled centers of yellow pass you by as you explore the 100 or more living quarters and farmlands from the past 100 years. Curious goat trot by your carriage, the furry darlings native to the Swiss highlands, while scatter brained chickens cluck away in their pens. Ringing the compound are untouched forest lands, woods preserved in pristine condition to create a natural alcove for you to rest in the shade. Stopping by the huts and cottages, you come across blacksmiths hammering at rods of steel and iron in the sweltering hot furnaces. Maidens in traditional frocks pound away at the fermenting cheese as potters deftly finger the rotating mound of clay to shape it immaculately into utensils and handicrafts that capture this love for the traditional arts poured into its making. The children frolic through the exhibits, eyes keen on the trail of Swiper as they head on the Foxtrail in search of a shifty fox. A living fossil of Switzerland’s past, the Ballenberg Open Air Museum is a window to remind us of the hidden magic of old.