Ballstädt was first mentioned in documents in 977. Various fires have changed the townscape over the years. Several watermills, now converted into residential buildings, are located on the Tonna river, which has its source in Ballstädt. The Bittergut estate, which has been preserved to this day, shaped the townscape for several centuries. The noble family of the Lords of Ballstädt ruled the village from 1200 to 1500. Later, the estate changed hands several times. St. Peter's Church, built in 1477, dominates the townscape. During the Thirty Years' War, over 300 inhabitants of the village died as a result of the plague in 1625. As a result of robbery, devastation and fires, only 54 of the original 129 houses were still standing in 1638.

A special sight in the village is the Breithauptsche Bock windmill, which has already been featured on a stamp. The windmill was built in Eggersdorf near Schönebeck (Saxony-Anhalt) in 1884 and moved here in 1935. This rare technical monument is still fully functional and is demonstrated in the summer months on the last Saturday of every month with its blades turning. From the north-eastern end of the village, past the Obermühle mill and over the Hopfenberg hill, you can hike into the Ballstädter Holz to the Blütengrund. The "Fahnersche Höhe" restaurant, which opened in 1975, is a popular cultural center in the village. The municipality of Ballstädt, which has a population of around 790, has a medium-sized commercial area, which can be expanded at any time, and a residential area, which still has (more) vacant building plots.