Ballemberg, memory of rural Switzerland.

The memory of rural Switzerland

Ballenberg is first and foremost a walk; a stroll through time and space in the heart of Switzerland from the 15th century to the last century. Surrounded by mountains and filled with greenery, one is first invaded by a very real feeling of calm and tranquillity, like a relaxation session as a preamble to a return to the past.

With more than a hundred original houses relocated for the occasion, Ballenberg offers visitors the essence of Swiss rural culture. Alpine chalets or manor houses, craftsmen’s trades, people in period costume. What’s immediately striking is the delicacy of the exterior scenery, and the richness and accuracy of the interior details, forcing the observer to enter the space-time world, in the place and stead of the characters of the time. And so begins a journey of initiation for most, a reminiscence for others, ultimately creating a bridge between generations and a unity of feeling.

The crafts practiced by our ancestors are well represented, from precision millinery and pottery to basketry, weaving and all the other trades of everyday life in those not-so-distant times that we are quick to forget.

In those days, people often travelled by ski, which was a means of transport before it became a leisure activity. Similarly, animals were not often pets, but worked in the fields with men.

In the evening, everyone would gather together by the light of the candle, around the fireplace to tell tell about the day and for the family meal well deserved. It was a time when the men used to talk to one another and live together, when culture was passed on by word of mouth. Those were the good old days, as they say !

Ballemberg (Switzerland) – August 2008