But Ballenberg Museum really comes to life thanks to the original and authentic cultivation of useful plants, the over 250 domestic farm animals and thanks to the craftsmen and farmers who work with traditional tools. Thematic exhibitions and special events about culture and customs complement the offerings.Farmsteads were (and sometimes still are) small enterprises where everything was made by hand and from scratch. Long winter months provided time to repair and build new tools, some of them of nifty design and embellished with intricate carvings. It seems all farmers - women and men - where artists too. Food preserving, gardening, tool and cloth making were not just daily chores, everyone was proud to give everything a personal touch.