From the idea and from the material the “Upper Austrian peasants’ quarters” in the basement of the Francisco-Carolinum Museum formed the centre of the folklore collection, which exists since 1880 as part of the art and culture history department and since 1939 as its own department.

The collection, which predominantly consists of “folk art”, experienced its most important increases in the form of large bequests (Pachinger, Zöhrer, Spiegl) and by further systematic acquisitions pursues the goal of retaining a cross section of the special cultural properties of 19^th (and 20^th) century Upper Austria, whereby now the emphasis is on the recent past and present.

The folklore collections cover approximately 50,000 objects (about 30,000 three dimensional and in addition about 15,000 graphic pieces). Their emphasis is on Upper Austria, and they contain on the one hand some special collections (paintings behind glass, cribs, furniture, ceramics (incl. findings), toys, models, devotional pictures, wrought iron, traditional costumes and hats, everyday culture), but on the other hand regional (Salzkammergut) and thematic units (ethnography, folk religion, fisheries). In addition an extensive map and picture archive (R. Heckl, R. Moser, J. Mechle) and several inheritances (M. Kislinger, A. Depiny), for example hundreds of documentary photos are available for (folklore) research.

A future goal is it to put more emphasis on products (including those of industrial production) of Upper Austrian companies (e.g. Austrosessel of the Wiesner Hager company) because all objects are to be collected that attest to the historical and modern culture of Upper Austria (e.g. doll furniture, postcards showing traditional costumes, Palmbuschen (Palmstöcke), tape recordings).

Project:

Since 2001 the Austria-wide project "Everyday culture since 1945" has been operated and cared for by the folklore department, having its visible results in the 2005 publication “Dinge des Alltags” (“Everyday things”) and over 60 exhibits (summarised in the brochure “Everyday culture since 1945. Exhibits. Projects. Publications”). Part of this was for example the special exhibit “How we live(d)” in the Castle Museum of Linz from 22 May to 26 October 2005.

www.alltagskultur.at

Fig.:

House blessing picture (Birth of Christ, Heart of Jesus and Heart of Maria), Sandl, 1^st quarter of 19^th century. Sandl in the district of Freistadt was a manufacturing centre for cottage-industry paintings behind glass and supplied colourful pictures for “Herrgottswinkel” (home shrines) beyond the borders of the monarchy.

Collection management:

(prior appointment requested)

Dr.  Andrea Euler (folklore in general)

Upper Austrian Provincial Museum

Castle Museum of Linz

Schlossberg 2

4010 Linz

Tel: +43 732 774419-20

Fax: +43 732 774419-29

E-mail: a.euler@landesmuseum.at

Mag. Dr.  Thekla Weissengruber (textiles area)

Upper Austrian Provincial Museum

Castle Museum of Linz

Schlossberg 2

4010 Linz

Tel: +43 732 774419-43

Fax: +43 732 774419-29

E-mail: t.weissengruber@landesmuseum.at

Fig.:

"Georgskasten" (George’s chest) by Urban Huemer, Offenhausen, ca. 1785.

This impressive chest with three fixtures on top and several saints contains all the characteristics of the painting style of the “Carpenter in Aigen” and surely represents a high point of Upper Austrian furniture painting.

Fig.:

“Löffelrehm” (spoon holder), Salzkammergut, ca. 1830.

Painted wooden spoons are put in a sawn-out, multicoloured “Loeffelrehm”, which was manufactured in Viechtau (Altmünster, Traunkirchen) and as a typical product of the wood handicraft of the Salzkammergut region made its way into the Edgar von Spiegl collection and thus into the Upper Austrian Provincial Museum.