Freilichtmuseum Beuren

About the museum

Since 1978 the State of Baden-Württemberg has supported regional rural open-air museums. For the Middle Neckar region and the Swabian Alb, the Esslingen district began examining a museum of its own in 1979; the first buildings had already been dismantled, but in 1982 the strained budget situation initially halted the project.

In 1985 the district council took up the plans again and chose the "Herbstwiesen" site near Beuren. After the groundbreaking in 1987 and several years of construction, the open-air museum opened on May 12, 1995, as the seventh and youngest of the state's regional open-air museums.

Since then the museum village has grown steadily. In addition to the buildings from the Neckar region, houses from the Alb were added from 1998, such as a day laborer's house, a weaver's house from Laichingen and a late medieval farmhouse from Aichelau. A special feature is a rare freestanding daylight photo studio from Kirchheim unter Teck. In 2019 the Erlebnis.Genuss.Zentrum for old varieties opened in the relocated garden hall from Geislingen.

The grounds lie amid old orchards; house gardens, fields and regional livestock breeds are part of the concept. The museum is the information center of the UNESCO Biosphere Area and an information point of the UNESCO Geopark Swabian Alb, and offers around 100 events a year.

Highlights

• Around 25 relocated buildings from the Neckar region and the Swabian Alb
• Rare freestanding daylight photo studio from Kirchheim unter Teck
• Museum animals such as sheep, goats, geese and vineyard snails
• Erlebnis.Genuss.Zentrum for old crop varieties
• Orchards with more than 600 fruit trees

Permanent exhibitions

• Hungerbrot und Fruchtsäule – Interactive exhibition on the years of famine after 1815 and the promotion of Württemberg agriculture under King William I.
• Themenpfad Natur- und Kulturlandschaft – Circular trail with 20 stations across the eleven-hectare grounds, explaining the landscape around the museum village.
• Regionale Sorten mit Tradition – Exhibition in the Erlebnis.Genuss.Zentrum on old fruit, vegetable and grain varieties of the region and their preservation.

Founded

1995

Operated by

Landkreis Esslingen

Director

Dr. Petra Naumann

Admission & discounts

Free admission with the AlbCard, ErlebnisCard, StuttCard, Landesfamilienpass (voucher) and for members of the friends' association (Förderverein); 50% reduction with the Ehrenamtskarte Baden-Württemberg and Juleica. If you are only visiting the museum restaurant, admission is free (except during special-focus events).

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits
• Sign language tours
• Easy-to-read materials
• Audio description: no information

The historic houses have, in places, high steps, steep stairs and low ceilings. Accessible are the path from parking lot P2 to the entrance, the entrance building, the garden restaurant, the first floor of the restaurant and the garden hall from Geislingen (with a tactile model); the house from Öschelbronn has an elevator. Loan wheelchair at the ticket desk. Annual tours in sign language, Easy Language (Leichte Sprache), for people with visual impairments and for people with reduced mobility, also bookable for groups.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Hands-on stations
• Baby changing facilities
• Playground / play area
• Kids’ birthday parties

Certified as family-friendly. Free discovery tour for children at the ticket desk, village playground at the geese meadow, play room in the town hall and hands-on kitchen in the museum education center. Animal feeding six days a week at 15:00, family holiday program and children's birthday parties (from age 6). Hand-pulled wagons against a deposit; the grounds are car-free and fenced.

Getting there & parking

Via the A 8, exit 57 Kirchheim/Teck-Ost, to Owen and on the L 1210 toward Beuren; signposted from the highway. GPS: "72660 Beuren, Herbstwiesen" or "Engelbergweg." On foot from the village center (stop Molkerei) via Brühlstraße or on hiking trails from Neuffen, Owen or Linsenhofen.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Restaurant
• Museum shop

Museum restaurant "Inkulinarium" with a garden restaurant (Tue–Sun and public holidays 12:00–16:30, changing daily special Tue–Fri), museum shop and the Tante-Helene-Lädle of the friends' association. Picnic spots and a grill area that can be reserved. Dogs on a leash allowed, but not in the buildings.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Private parties
• Corporate events
• Weddings / ceremonies

Up to 100 guests.

Meeting rooms in the "Bauernschloss" from Öschelbronn: Hopfensaal (up to 100 people, accessible, also a wedding room for civil and non-denominational ceremonies) and the meeting room Dorfblick (up to 24 people). Rental only during the museum season.

Plan your visit