Valley of history

Translocation is a method of relocating buildings. By means of translocation, historical buildings that have lost their function at their original location find their way to us in the Austrian Open Air Museum.

The building is first recorded in drawings and photographs. Each individual building element is then labelled. Only then can the respective building be carefully dismantled. Before being rebuilt in the museum grounds, damaged parts must be restored or replaced with good old wood. Woodworm, dry rot and other pests are to be destroyed through conservation measures.

After reconstruction, the building will be fully functional with all the necessary household goods and tools. The preservation or restoration of the fireplaces such as cookers and ovens is particularly important for the representation of the former way of living and working. This completes the relocation.

The Austrian Open-Air Museum Stübing fulfils the following tasks in its function as a museum: Collecting, preserving, documenting and communicating. 

Folklore and history as well as numerous findings from the sciences of architecture, restoration, agronomy, botany etc. flow into the tasks and fields of work of the open-air museum.

The open-air museum endeavours to incorporate as much knowledge as possible from the various fields of research into its scientific work through cooperation and the exchange of information.

The collection of the open-air museum comprises 100 historical rural objects from all over Austria and South Tyrol (original historical buildings, replicas, reconstructions) from 6 centuries.

The aim is to provide visitors with as holistic and authentic a picture of the buildings as possible.

The collection also includes 130,000 farm labour and everyday objects that have been purchased or donated to the museum by private individuals or institutions.