A balloon team from Masuria was the only Polish squad participating in the International Hot-Air Balloon Festival contest in Château-d’Oex. The team was promoting the Polish finalist, the Masurian Lake District in the New7Wonders of Nature competition.
This year’s International Hot-Air Balloon Festival drew 100 teams from 20 countries. The vista of dozens of colourful balloons silently rising up against the background of in the snow-capped Swiss Alps is one of the region’s most memorable winter sights.
The hot-air balloon festival was started by Hans Bücker and Charles-André Ramseier in 1979. The event attracts large crowds who come to see the spectacle and the son et lumière night show. Incidentally, the first balloon that flew around the globe without stopping left from Château-d’Oex in 1999. The Breitling Orbiter, piloted by Betrand Piccard and Brian Jones completed the trip in 20 days.