Brüglingen, Recreation area in Münchenstein, Switzerland

Brüglingen is a 311-hectare former estate in Münchenstein, now a recreation area with two old hamlets: Unter-Brüglingen, with the Villa Merian, and Vorder-Brüglingen, with a barn built in 1905/1906. The site also holds the Merian Gärten with an English landscape park, two lakes, and the Wolkenhügel, a hill created for the Grün 80 exhibition.

Brüglingen grew from a medieval estate first documented in 1259, when the mill and hamlet belonged to the Basel cathedral provostry. Christoph Merian-Hoffmann bought it in 1811, and his son Christoph Merian expanded it to 311 hectares by the mid-19th century. Since 1886 it has belonged to the Christoph Merian Stiftung, though land ceded for railways, the Wolfgottesacker cemetery and the St. Jakob sports grounds reduced it to about a third of that area.

The gardens display traditional cultivation methods and host plant varieties from different climate zones. Visitors can see how the spaces are designed to support both learning and relaxation.

The grounds are accessible daily without admission fees and feature broad pathways that are easy to walk through. Late morning or early afternoon tends to be a good time to visit when the area is less crowded.

The two lakes and the Wolkenhügel in the south of Brüglingen are remnants of the Grün 80 national horticultural exhibition, which took over the whole area in 1980 and reshaped its terrain. The last tenant farm in Unter-Brüglingen closed at that time.