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Männlichen, Alphorn

Traditions & customs

Discover the Bern Region: living traditions, authentic Alpine culture and a glimpse into the original spirit of the Swiss Alps.

If you are interested in culture, come to the Bern Region and the Bernese Oberland where you will experience Bern in its full authenticity – yodelling, the Swiss sports of Hornussen and Schwingen as well as lacemaking are part of everyday life here.

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Ballenberg Swiss Open-air Museum

In the Ballenberg Swiss Open-air Museum, 100 traditional houses are waiting to be explored. Actors portray in different plays how the rural population lived and worked in the olden days. On Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, it gets spooky in Kandersteg when the Pelzmartiga move through the village to frighten people.

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Freilichtmuseum Ballenberg, Hofstetten

Pelzmartiga in Kandersteg

Things turn spooky at Christmas and New Year's Day when the Pelzmartiga, fearsome figures traditionally dressed in furs, rags, or fir branches, roam through Kandersteg and scare the locals and visitors alike.
 

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Lenk Alpine Festival

AlpKultur® Tage Lenk, Lenk
© Lenk Simmental Tourismus

Experience the traditions and living customs of the Simmental up close at the Lenk Alpine Festival. In workshops, participants learn the Simmental paper cutting technique or discover Hornussen, a traditional Swiss sport in which a small puck is struck with a flexible rod and defended by the opposing team. During the festival, herdsmen decorate their cows with flowers and present them to the public, which then crowns the most beautiful as Miss Lenk. Simmental cows are world famous and the highlight of the Lenk Alpine Festival.

 

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Experiences

Bernese traditions

Yodelling, Swiss wrestling, hornussen throwing – locals and visitors just love these old Bernese traditions. Especially as they are still very much a part of everyday life here.

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Experiences

Emmental Show Dairy

Since 1989, the show dairy has been open 365 days a year. Visitors can explore four former cheese dairies from different generations. In addition to fascinating facts and the history of this traditional Swiss product, guests even get the chance to learn how to make cheese themselves.

 

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June & September 2026

Alpine cattle processions

The spectacular cattle ascents and descents are part of the traditional Alpine festivals. Colourfully decorated, the animals walk on sometimes narrow and steep rock paths.
30 June – 4 July 2026

International Woodcarving Symposium Brienz

Flying wood chips, the buzz of chainsaws and precision carving with a chisel: at the International Woodcarving Symposium in Brienz, artists will fashion large wooden sculptures within only five days.
1. August in Spiez, Ferienregion Interlaken
1 August 2026

National Day in the Canton of Bern

Swiss National Day is celebrated in style in the Bern Region – check out the highlights of the festivities.
Gstaad Züglete
5 September 2026

Gstaad Züglete

Cowbells tinkling high and low, dairy cows festooned with flowers – Gstaad’s traditional Züglete is an event well-worth experiencing. It’s the time when local farmers bring their herds of cows back down to the valley and lead them through the village in a colourful procession.
Twann, Jura & Drei-Seen-Land
11 September – 25 October 2026

Wine festivals in the Bern Region

The wine festivals in the Bern Region celebrate the grape harvest, called the Läset, with colorful parades, wine tastings, open cellars, market stalls, concerts and authentic Swiss vineyard culture.
Chästeilet Justistal
18 September 2026

Chästeilet in the Justistal

Every year in September, the farmers of the Justistal come together for the Alpabzug, the day the cattle is brought back down to the valley from the summer pastures. In the idyllic valley of Sigriswil, in keeping with a century-old custom, farmers then share the alpine cheeses produced over the summer.
26 & 27 September 2026

Chästeilet in Wengen

The Chästeilet in Wengen celebrates Alpine traditions with cheese sales, folklore, a food market and live music. A lively festival for locals and visitors alike.
AlpKultur® Tage Lenk, Lenk
10 – 11 October 2026

Lenk Alpine Festival

Traditional workshops, Miss Dairy Cow competitions, a hearty alpine farmer’s breakfast, and Hornussen sports: all that and lots more await you as an experience during the Lenk Alpine Festival.
23 November 2026

Onion Market

Once a year, onions and garlic take over the City of Bern. During the Zibelemärit, the city smells of onion tarts, onion soup and mulled wine.
Altjahrswoche und Ubersitz, Meiringen
25 – 30 December 2026

Trychel Week and Ubersitz

At the end of each year Meiringen celebrates an ancient custom: Trychel Week and the Ubersitz. During these days the villagers use masks, bells and giant Trycheln cow-bells to cast out haunting spirits.
24 - 31 January 2027

Belle Epoque Week in Kandersteg

Experience the Belle Epoque Week in Kandersteg. Step back into the years 1884 to 1914 for one week, with cultural, culinary and sporting activities.
28 January – February 2027

Carnival in the Bern Region

It's carnival season in the Bern Region! Expect charming carnival processions, Gugge music from brass and percussion bands, fun costumes and confetti showers.