Museum Tiroler Bauernhofe

The museum was founded in 1974 on about eight hectares of meadow near Kramsach, and what it holds are complete farmsteads rather than sample buildings - fourteen at first and around thirty farmsteads and rural buildings by 2009, dismantled where they stood across Tyrol and South Tyrol, moved and re-erected here with their outbuildings, mills, forges, barns and chapels, some going back to the fifteenth century. The point is regional difference: a farm from the Ötztal is built to a different logic from one in the Zillertal or the Lechtal, and having them in one field makes the comparison possible. Interiors are furnished with tools and household goods, animals are kept, and demonstrations of crafts run in season. The site is walked on paths through grass and is slow to cover properly.

History

The Museum of Tyrolean Farms Society was founded in 1974 to move typical farmhouses of North, South and East Tyrol, with all their buildings and equipment, onto a site of about eight hectares and rebuild them there, on the model of Scandinavian open-air museums such as Skansen in Stockholm, founded in 1891. It began with 14 farmhouses, by 2009 it held around 30 farmsteads and other rural buildings, and when complete it is to have 50 displays (Wikipedia, Museum of Tyrolean Farms).

Highlights

• Around thirty farmsteads and rural buildings - moved and rebuilt whole, with outbuildings.
• Regional differences side by side - Ötztal, Zillertal and Lechtal building compared.
• Furnished interiors - tools, kitchens and household goods in place.
• Working demonstrations - crafts and farm work in season.

When to go

April to October; the museum closes over winter. Half a day.

Practical notes

Closed for the winter. It is outdoors on grass, so wet weather is uncomfortable. Some buildings are locked outside demonstration times. Interpretation is mainly in German.

Nearby

Rattenberg, Austria's smallest town, is close; Alpbach is up the side valley.

Key facts