Who were the people who once filled this ornate estate, the Spinnahof, with life? In Ehrwald, in the middle of the village, it has recently become the home museum. Although there is a gap of many years between the last residents and today's visit, the distance between yesterday and today is short. What can be seen in the newly decorated rooms stimulates the imagination and makes thoughts wander through time: whose hands must have opened those cupboard doors? What did the people who sat on those chairs talk about?
This is in line with the philosophy of the museum association, according to its chairman, Dr. Peter L. Steger. "We are about making the stories that have shaped our place and the lives of previous generations viable," he says. Visitors to the Ehrwalder Heimatmuseum should be able to embark on a journey through time that brings them together with those who have left their mark. "It's not about someone saying, "Look at that beautiful mirror!" Or, "Is that a magnificent carving work!" It's about thinking: Who last stuck that comb in their hair - and perhaps never had it in their mind that it would end up in a museum? Who was it that wielded the carving knife? Was his work a pastime or hard earned bread? What inspired him to this motive?
Each exhibit becomes a narrative piece
It's not wishful thinking that Steger pursues. Since only a portion of the museum's 850 or so objects are on display at any one time, concentration is easy. Almost automatically, thoughts move from the surface to the soul of the exhibits, giving rise to a wish: If only they could tell! "They can," Steger is sure. This isn't just possible in the museum. A virtual tour on the Internet allows visitors to visit remotely, too.
An influential figure in the Spinnhof is an artist. Clemens Krauss was the founding conductor of the Vienna Philharmonic's New Year's Concerts. He spent his last years in Ehrwald and is buried there. His estate has plenty of material for new exhibitions, says the Obmann. At the same time, he is already thinking about which well-known and important contemporaries can still be remembered in the museum.
„“Often something new” at the Ehrwalder Heimatmuseum
According to Steger, two phrases, combined with each other, should make Ehrwalder Heimatmuseum a place to which one always returns with curiosity: “Often something new” and “Less is more”.
Just as the exhibits on display were once at the heart of life, so too should the museum: 'We want something to happen regularly in our museum. That's why we will show a new special exhibition about every six months. They will focus on a few, but very meaningful exhibits,' says the Obmann. 'So only a few exhibits have to share the stage of attention. That brings visitors much closer to the stories from the history of our homeland.' Steger expects the Heimatmuseum in Ehrwald to develop as an attraction for visitors and locals alike. It's a mix he expects a lot of. It's a chance for both of them to talk to each other and to connect narratives as they once were, into a very individual experience for people today.
Explorers don't need to venture out into the big world to satisfy their curiosity, according to the message of the Heimatmuseum. Even the Ehrwaldite microcosm holds infinite treasures. The Ehrwaldite, for example. A very rare type of rock that was pushed up from the interior of the earth millions of years ago as molten basalt. A chapter of earth and local history, as well as the prehistoric finds of the first special exhibition. You want to step out of the window and shout out to the mountains as eternal witnesses: "Tell me about it!"
Whether sausage, honey, dumplings or schnapps: In keeping with the regional stories told in the Heimatmuseum, there are regional delicacies in the Ehrwald village shop.
