The Black Forest Open Air Museum (german: Schwarzwälder Freilichtmuseum Vogtsbauernhof) is an open-air
museum
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...
located between
Hausach and
Gutach in the
Black Forest
The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is t ...
(
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
).
The museum is centred on the ''Vogtsbauernhof'' farmhouse dating from 1612, which was built on this site.
Other buildings from the Black Forest have been dismantled, transported to the museum and reassembled. The museum has attracted over 16 million visitors since its opening in 1964.
Attractions
There are six fully furnished farmhouses:
*Vogtsbauernhof – built on the site, elevation 260 m, in 1612. Inside is an exhibition of typical work carried out by travelling craftsmen.
*Hotzenwaldhaus – from
Hotzenwald
The Hotzenwald is a landscape and region in the Southern Black Forest in the county of Waldshut. Its headquarters was the ''Waldvogteiamt''.
Location and topography
The region of Hotzenwald is not precisely defined in the records. In a narro ...
, elevation 920 m. Built in 1756. Exhibition of Black Forest textile handicraft.
*Falkenhof – from the
Dreisam Valley
The Dreisam Valley (german: Dreisamtal) is a valley east of the south German city of Freiburg. The valley lies within the Southern Black Forest Nature Park in the state of Baden-Württemberg.
Location
The Dreisam Valley runs for a few kilomet ...
, elevation 530 m. Built in 1737. Exhibitions are on dairy and livestock farming in the Black Forest and a comparison of historical and modern light sources.
*Schauinslandhaus – from
Schauinsland
The Schauinsland (literally "look-into-the-country"; near Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany) is a mountain in the Black Forest with an elevation of 1,284 m (4,213 ft) above sea level. It is a popular destination for day trips. Due to the h ...
, elevation 1,100 m. Built in 1730. Exhibition of woodworking craft.
*Hippenseppenhof – from Furtwangen-Katzensteig, elevation 920 m. Built in 1599. Exhibitions on clocks and traditional costumes of the Black Forest.
*Lorenzenhof – from
Oberwolfach in the
Kinzig valley, 350 m. Built in 1608. Exhibitions of forestry management and glassblowing and a collection of regional stone and minerals.
Other buildings include a day labourer's cottage (1819) and outbuildings including a mill (1609), a sawmill (1673), barns, stalls, a chapel (1736), a storehouse (1601–1746) and a granny house (''Leibgedinghaus'',1652).
Around the buildings are farm animals and a herb garden with over 130 medicinal herbs. Demonstrations of exhibitions illustrate the crafts, tools, customs, traditions, work and lifestyle of former times.
[Official information leaflet]
History
The museum opened in 1964, founded as the first open-air museum in
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
. Key events in the museum's history are:
*1963 Foundation of the museum and beginning of restoration of Vogtsbauernhof farmstead
*1964 Opening of Vogtsbauernhof farmstead and its outbuildings
*1966 Opening of Hippenseppenhof farmstead and its outbuildings
*1972 Opening of Lorenzenhof farmstead
*1980 Opening of
Hotzenwald
The Hotzenwald is a landscape and region in the Southern Black Forest in the county of Waldshut. Its headquarters was the ''Waldvogteiamt''.
Location and topography
The region of Hotzenwald is not precisely defined in the records. In a narro ...
farmstead
*1982 Opening of Schauinsland farmstead
*1996 Museum is transferred into an enterprise
*1999 Opening of Falkenhof farmstead
*2002 Opening of Day labourer's Cottage "Wirtstonis"
*2006 Opening of the new Reception building
*2010 Opening of the new Adventure playground
*2014 Opening of the Gutach Freilichtmuseum railway station
[Museum profile]
on official website
Visiting
The museum is open daily from the end of March until early November. It claims to be the most visited open-air museum in Germany and one of the most visited throughout Europe, with more than 250,000 visitors a year. Since its opening, the museum has attracted over 13.5 million visitors.
[
]
Photo gallery
File:Vogtsbauernhof 1999.jpg, The ''Vogtsbauernhof'' is the only farm in the museum which is still standing in its original location.
File:Vogtsbauernhof - Parlour.JPG, Inside the ''Vogtsbauernhof''
File:Freilichtmuseum Vogtsbauernhof, Gutach 2017 - DSC07958 - VOGTSBAUERNHOF (36440540665).jpg, Inside the ''Vogtsbauernhof''
File:Vogtsbauernhof-Schlitteur.jpg, Inside of the ''Vogtsbauernhof'': the scene of a wood worker
File:Freilichtmuseum Vogtsbauernhof, Gutach 2017 - DSC07323 - VOGTSBAUERNHOF (36272233002).jpg, The ''Vogtsbauernhof'' from the front
References
External links
Official website of the Open Air Museum
{{Authority control
Black Forest
Open-air museums in Germany
Farm museums in Germany
Folk museums in Germany
Rural history museums in Germany
Culture of Baden-Württemberg
Museums in Baden-Württemberg
1964 establishments in West Germany
Buildings and structures in Ortenaukreis
Tourist attractions in Baden-Württemberg