„Ein gutes Gespann“. Landwirtschaftsgeschichte und ihre Vermittlung im Freilichtmuseum

In 2015 the Swiss Open-Air Museum put the spotlight on agriculture by making it its annual theme. In its first section this article presents its objectives and activities: it conveys historical agriculture with the muscle power of man and beast in the fields and meadows, in the gardens and kitchens. The work was not just performed for the public; we did the work that had to be done anyway, using historical methods. But how did the Museum actually come to take up its own farming? With the aid of the history and strategy of Ballenberg this article shows how agriculture became a theme at the Open-Air Museum and how this has been conveyed up to now. Then the project «Masterplan new permanent exhibition» is introduced. Its goal is to make the buildings in the Museum intelligible and the current economic system more recognizable. The last section contains an outline of possible approaches for future representation of rural economy in the Museum.