Salzburger Freilichtmuseum Großgmain – Folkmuseum Großgmain

In the shadow of the mighty Untersberg mountain you will find a great collection of farmhouses and pieces of folk art from all around the province of Salzburg merged together into an area easily explored in a stroll: the Salzburger Freilichtmuseum in the community of Großgmain has a collection of 60 farmhouses as well as traditional barns, skilled worker’s houses, mills and mountain cabins.

The outstanding “collection” was gathered from all over the province, destructed, transported to Großgmain and re-constructed into the original state – it spans over 500 years of folk art and architectural traditions of rural Salzburg. The buildings are supplemented with matching furniture, a village school is fully equipped and tractor old-timers demonstrate how farmers worked some 50 years ago (in Upper Austria 10 years ago).

In addition to the permanent exhibition, there are alternating ones and displays of folk dance and music performances. The 500.000 square metres that the museum occupies are arranged like the districts of Salzburg province: Flachgau, Tennengau, Pongau, Pinzgau and Lungau.

Explore Salzburg's rural heritage

The farms are embraced by traditional fences from Alpine areas and a number of the farms have functional and used orchards and fields. The ponds that you will find in the Freilichtmuseum are used to operate the mill, where – on special occasions – flour is made.

The idea of all that is to give visitors an active insight into techniques and working practice from the 19th century rural Salzburg. If your visit co-incises with a bank holiday or Sunday, it is worth asking at the museum whether there are any special performances scheduled.

This applies especially if the holiday matches with any traditionally or religiously relevant occasion, traditional societies might hold meetings or do special activities and make the Freilichtmuseum a “living” museum.

Links

http://www.freilichtmuseum.com/
Official website - opens in new window

http://www.aeiou.at/aeiou.history.id_inst.i2.i19
AEIOU on the museum - opens in new window

http://austria-insiderinfo.com/seilbahn_etc/freilichtmuseum.htm
Information on German - opens in new window

back to surroundings