About us

Mission

The Black Forest Open Air Museum is a forum for the entire Black Forest region. It carries out research projects and explores the cultural heritage and development of all rural areas in the Black Forest. In addition, the museum collects and preserves for the future important cultural assets from the Black Forest to ensure that the people of the region and visitors can access and experience these collections. In this way, the Open Air Museum contributes to the promotion and preservation of the region's cultural identity.

Governing authority

District of Ortenau

Size

 17 acres

History

• 1963 Foundation of the museum and beginning of restoration of Vogtsbauernhof farmstead

• 1964 Opening of Vogtsbauernhof farmstead and its outbuildings as a museum

• 1966 Opening of Hippenseppenhof farmstead and its outbuildings

• 1972 Opening of Lorenzenhof farmstead

• 1980 Opening of Hotzenwald farmstead

• 1982 Opening of Schauinsland farmstead

• 1996 Museum is transformed 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 train station "Gutach Freilichtmuseum"

• 2017 Opening of the Hermann-Schilli-House

• 2018  Opening of the „Little castle from Effringen“

Visitors/significance

With more than 220.000 visitors during its seven-month season, the museum is one of the most visited open-air museums in Germany and throughout Europe. The museum is a very important tourist attraction in the Black Forest. Since its opening, the museum has attracted over 16 million visitors.

Exhibitions

The only museum that collects important cultural assets of all Black Forest region: 

• Six fully furnished Black Forest farm houses and one labourer’s cottage

• The 600-year-old “Little Castle from Effringen” is one of the oldest buildings in a German open-air museum

• The “Hermann Schilli” house (built in 1980) with its modern lecture room and a permanent exhibition on the lifestyle of the 1980s

• A number of outbuildings including storage houses, chapels, grain and sawmills as well as boundary stones and wayside shrines

• Typical gardens and traditional livestock (e.g. horses, cows, pigs and goats)

• Experience the inner workings of mills, different trades and crafts, a workshop for families as well as other exciting activities

• A wide range of tours for groups, school and kindergarten children

• Walk around

Origin of visitors

• 70% from Germany
• 30% from foreign countries (Netherlands, USA, France, Italy, Spain, Israel)

Number of employees

Year-round: 15
During the season: 50
Museum Team

Planing your visit/booking

The Open Air Museum offers a very varied programme with general guided tours, educational learning experiences (for kindergartens, schools and youth groups), entertaining and informative museum discovery activities and science-based special interest tours (for adult groups).
All programms

Certified service quality

The Open Air Museum Vogtsbauernhof is a participant in the initiative "Service Qualität Deutschland in Baden-Württemberg" and is a certified Q-Service Provider. We have been recognised as a customer-oriented service provider and have implemented a quality assurance system.

Award-winning family holidays

The Open Air Museum has been recognized as being particularly family-friendly and carries the official “familien-ferien” (family holiday) seal of approval.
The “familien-ferien” seal is valid until 2019. By taking part in the regional competition, the museum commits – like all certified companies – to maintaining and continuously improving the quality of all it has to offer.
Tips for kids

Contact

Black Forest Open Air Museum Vogtsbauernhof
77793 Gutach (Schwarzwaldbahn)
Tel.: +49 – 7831 – 93 56 0
Fax: +49 – 7831 – 93 56 29
Email: info@vogtsbauernhof.de