This study aimed to describe and partly analyze the history and characteristics of the exhibition concepts of three open-air museums in the state of B-W, Southwestern Germany. Open-air museums of B-W state were erected later compared to those in Europe and other districts of Germany, because it was difficult to develop cultural policies highlighting local identities when the two districts of B-W became one political union. Moreover, the two districts have different cultural histories. Nonetheless, the pr이 ect of building open-air museums was promoted in several places when many self-governing bodies in the state of BW began to take interest in the project to enhance local identities and education. In this study, many open-따r museums in the state were classified into three types according to the building time and concept of the museums. The preservation and exhibition of the museums erected in the 1970s were regarded as the most important concepts, because they were built chiefly to emphasize local identities rather than to aid in research and investigations. Open-air museums were built in the 1980's not only for preservation and exhibition purposes focusing on local identities, but also for research and investigations. As such, houses and objects of specific time and place have been exhibited. However, even the museums of the 1980s have not been able to represent concretely the real life of the people who lived at that time and place; rather, they emphasize the beauty of their life. In contrast, open-air museums that were opened recently have represented concretely and systematically the overall life of the specific time and place that were being exhibited through the investigation results of history or folklore studies and development of ecological museums. This study investigated the history of open-air museums in B-W state through several devices for theoretical an머yses. However, the author does not possess full understanding and knowledge of museums. Actually, traditional cultures of Germany have been rarely introduced and studied in Korea. Thus, it is quite difficult to research on the relics and houses exhibited in open-air museums in a specific state of Gerrnany. Nonetheless, the author hopes that this study will help lay the basic foundation and contribute to further investigations of other students who are interested in open-air museums in Korea.