A visit to the Volkskundemuseum Graz – Exploring or own culture

Yesterday we went as a part of the lecture “Foundations of Cultural Theory”, which I’m doing as a facultative subject, on a little excursion to the Volkskundemuseum to have a closer look at how culture can be presented in a museum. Although I’ve visited quite a lot museums round the world, I have to admit that I’ve never been to any museum in Graz before, so I decided to join the small group of conscientious students – and I do not regret it!

In our guided tour I learned more about Austria, Styria and our culture than I would have thought. The museum is divided into three sections: The first one deals with living and shows the visitors how Austrians used to live more than a hundred years ago. For this, an authentic “Rauchstube” had been attached into the modern building. There are also many other exhibition pieces like chests (also a so-called “wedding chest” was exposed), beds and old wash boards. For me, this part brought nothing new as my grandparents own a little farm with lots of old furniture, similar to the exhibits (well maybe my grandparents’ furniture is not that old and precious ^^).

In the second part of the museum traditional Austrian clothing was shown. And if you think Austrians only used to wear Dirndl and Lederhosen until the 1950s you’re definitely wrong! In a chronological order clothes starting from the Hallstatt age (simple cloaks made of leather) to the Baroque (pompous dresses – but only for the rich!) to the 20^th century were exposed. Our guide, who seemed to be very well-informed, pointed out a few details and explained the story behind them. For example, there was a dress of an entrepreneur’s wife with a thin leather belt. On this belt a key and a small bag with spoons was attached. Our guide told us that until the 20^th century wearing a belt signalised power and wealth and that this woman even wore the key to the pantry and the cutlery on her belt which made her even more powerful in a male-dominated world. 

Then we came to the third part of the exhibition – which was in my opinion the most interesting one as it was about religion and superstition. Our guide showed us different more or less known things connected with believe. What I found especially interesting was the fact that not only objects connected with the Catholic believe but also with Spiritism were shown. . About a hundred years ago, people in Austria did not only go to church to pray there but also believed in natural spirits and witchcraft. If someone was ill, for instance, and couldn’t afford a doctor (which was very likely) his family members didn’t only pray to the Holy Virgin but also tried to help the sick person with amulets made of special animal bones. If someone built a house in those times they also had to give an offering to the earth spirits in order to pacify them. For this reason living (!!!!) animals like cats were often immured in the foundations of a house. They also found a walled-in cat in a building at the Schlossberg some years ago when they were doing some renovation work and our guide told us that scientists proved that the cat had been alive when she was immured. Another object that was, at least in my eyes, a bit scary was a so-called “hair picture”. When a family member died, a coil of his or her hair was cut off. With this hair a picture was made and hang on the wall to commemorate this person. In the museum there was one of those hair pictures of a couple whose three kids died at the same time. It made me feel quite sad when I thought of the family who had to deal with the loss. Nowadays we are at least able to look at photos of passed away family members in order to feel close to them again but as photos were rather expensive in those times, the parents could only keep their children’s hair… 

The visit to the Volkskundemuseum was a great experience and I really learned a lot – not only about specific cultural topics but also that growing up in a country doesn’t imply that you already know everything about its culture and traditions. You definitely never stop learning.. ;)