The International Hot-Air Balloon Festival in Château d'Oex is held yearly at the end of January. The first edition was in 1979.
Photo gallery of the 43rd festival in 2023
January 21 - January 29, 2023
Sunday, January 29, 2023 was a beautiful day with clear skies and barely any wind.
![departures in the morning of Sunday, January 29, 2023](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/645ef5b2f82fdeaf819364ecd9d55d6c/5465c4eb-65f2-4583-93b0-c88b98b161c9_rw_1920.jpg?h=0221ee7ce5ef79c7c2c1cd630247694d)
departures in the morning of Sunday, January 29, 2023
The stunning balloon HB-QUU Blüemli was built by pilots Stefan Waelchli and Benjamin Senn in over 600 hours of work. It is 37 meters high and has a volume of 3800 cubic meters.
![HB-QUU Blüemli built by pilots Stefan Waelchli and Benjamin Senn](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/645ef5b2f82fdeaf819364ecd9d55d6c/b8f96d00-ce68-4df2-b47d-a9d8aff148d8_rw_1920.jpg?h=0743ac085b43eb9abb2d0d83d98237d7)
HB-QUU Blüemli built by pilots Stefan Waelchli and Benjamin Senn
![HB-QUU Blüemli built by pilots Stefan Waelchli and Benjamin Senn](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/645ef5b2f82fdeaf819364ecd9d55d6c/e2562118-9bea-4123-99f0-a74723445580_rw_1920.jpg?h=d8dfc3fe03b5282dbd8e78c1df2abc1b)
HB-QUU Blüemli built by pilots Stefan Waelchli and Benjamin Senn
It was great to see that world circumnavigator Bertrand Piccard's balloon, that was caught in a gust of wind during the start on January 23, was already repaired and flying again !
![Bertrand Piccard's Breitling Orbiter 3](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/645ef5b2f82fdeaf819364ecd9d55d6c/2f42932f-5022-4c4d-b72d-fc4a33b8ccd8_rw_1920.jpg?h=8bcbf14c86a1fbb5af1f91480a95d479)
Bertrand Piccard's Breitling Orbiter 3
The hot air balloons could fly all day !
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/645ef5b2f82fdeaf819364ecd9d55d6c/1cc202e6-e7e5-49d4-8414-58a820685619_rw_1920.jpg?h=1fe0d182c42bb27d9f82f7fbc0dcc902)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/645ef5b2f82fdeaf819364ecd9d55d6c/76ebb26d-97b0-4457-b97c-32c93e136c1b_rw_1920.jpg?h=4a32bee1ec5fe9a449c94ab1a352ede8)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/645ef5b2f82fdeaf819364ecd9d55d6c/cbe6177a-c6ad-4dc4-94b9-823c951036fc_rw_1920.jpg?h=8d2bf2acec7ac980c6ecd0b33859b21e)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/645ef5b2f82fdeaf819364ecd9d55d6c/b93aa738-5498-4981-8b68-2b24f680cd95_rw_1920.jpg?h=94c7b642c06588c13a403cf081cb2abf)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/645ef5b2f82fdeaf819364ecd9d55d6c/10e89357-45a1-42c3-9f07-c7603b95f303_rw_1920.jpg?h=4038c2a9366517c92f39a0cd5d2f594c)
See you next year !
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/645ef5b2f82fdeaf819364ecd9d55d6c/9e1f2ac8-ddea-452d-9ddd-3d9179e9c9d4_rw_1920.jpg?h=c7cd076c2ad0f5b0686c89f8e2d80fc0)