Museums of history

Despite repeated attempts over the last 100 years as well as a now 10-year debate, Austria still does not have a national museum of Austrian history. Additionally, only a limited number of provincial museums, which are traditionally multi-disciplinary in nature, offer displays on regional and contemporary history. At the moment, history museums focused on provinces, regions, or cities seem to find themselves in an awkward situation 1) against the backdrop of increased competition with specialised history museums, 2) in light of hegemonic collections consisting of a mixture of fine and applied arts, and 3) in the face of current theoretical demands on historical presentation that challenge cherished forms of museum representation and mediation. We would like to discuss how provincial museums and larger regional and city museums can (once again) create a name for themselves today as museums of history: How can those responsible for them take the existing collections seriously without turning them into the sole reference point of the institution’s identity and the authority and expertise of its content? How should “old” issues be handled in a contemporary way and how can responsibilities be redefined? How can collections be linked together to form regional networks, and how can research and collection development be coordinated in a better way? How can the history of a province or a defined geographic area be told without it breaking down into a large number of loosely connected histories without any claim to more general validity?