Swarovski Crystal Worlds

Swarovski Kristallwelten opened in 1995 at Wattens, where the firm has cut crystal since 1895, for its centenary, designed by the Austrian multimedia artist André Heller. The entrance is a grass-covered mound shaped as a giant's head with a waterfall pouring from its mouth and crystal eyes, and behind it a sequence of chambers - Wunderkammern - each commissioned from a different artist, designer or architect, among them Brian Eno, Jim Whiting, Alexander McQueen and Tord Boontje, with new ones added over the years. It is a corporate showcase with a very large shop at the end and does not pretend otherwise. Outside are gardens with a crystal cloud of some eight hundred thousand hand-mounted crystals over a black reflecting pool, a tower and a play area.

History

Daniel Swarovski founded the firm in 1895, and a century later the artist André Heller was commissioned to create a museum of 14 chambers of wonder inside a giant to mark its centenary, opened in 1995 and enlarged in 1998, 2003 and 2007. A renovation and extension costing about 34 million euros began in October 2014 for the firm's 120th anniversary and reopened on 30 April 2015, growing the site from 3.5 to 7.5 hectares with the Crystal Cloud, a play tower and a restaurant; the works uncovered Roman walls from a country estate or small settlement on the road through the lower Inn valley, with a hoard of 702 silver coins (Wikipedia, Swarovski Kristallwelten).

What you'll find

• A giant's head with a waterfall - the grass-covered entrance mound.
• Artist-commissioned chambers - rooms by Eno, McQueen, Boontje and others.
• The crystal cloud - hundreds of thousands of crystals over a black pool outside.
• A very large shop - the end of the route, unavoidably.

When to go

All year; evenings when the outdoor installations are lit. Half a day.

Practical notes

It is a brand attraction and the route ends in retail. Entry is not cheap. Chambers rotate, so a specific one may be closed. Coach parties fill it in season.

Nearby

Innsbruck is twenty minutes west; Hall in Tirol is between.

Key facts