Austria
Universalmuseum Joanneum, Archaeology Museum at Castle Eggenberg
Schloss Eggenberg, Eggenberger Allee 90, 8020 Graz
https://www.museum-joanneum.at/archaeologiemuseum-schloss-eggenberg
Photo: Archaeology museum in Castle Eggenberg (Austria, Styria, Graz) © UMJ/N. Lackner
The Universalmuseum Joanneum is considered the biggest of its kind in Central Europe. About 4.9 million items across the collections form the basis of a richly faceted ‘universal’ exhibition and events schedule. A programme of exhibitions and events at 13 locations throughout Styria offers a unique panorama of science, art and culture.
The Archaeology Museum at Castle Eggenberg presents 1,221 objects within a contemporary space of 600 m². The museum’s open architecture with its light wells is particularly suitable for activities aimed at children and teenagers. In addition, museum staff are also able to demonstrate work in progress through the presentation of specially selected objects while archaeological processing is under way.
At Castle Eggenberg, curators have created a museum that allows all visitors to immerse themselves in the past, the daily lives of our ancestors, their means of expression, religious practices and social conditions. Though the exhibits represent many different periods and places, the exhibition approaches specific themes diachronically, providing visitors with the space and leisure to ponder the objects as timeless archetypes of basic human needs.
Grossklein Municipality
AT-8452 Großklein 120
Photo: HamuG (Austria, Styria, Großklein) © UMJ/M. Mele
The municipality of Großklein with about 2,300 inhabitants is situated amongst vineyards and fields in the south of the Austrian federal state of Styria. South Styria offers culinary enjoyment at every turn. Visitors are welcomed with open arms and spoilt for culinary choice. Whatever your taste, you can be sure to find something that hits the spot: from the finest wines to wine tavern specialities and award-winning restaurants, South Styria offers variety like no other. The countryside provides the most beautiful backdrop imaginable for walks and hikes, from leisurely ambles to ambitious sporting challenges and everything in-between. A wealth of historical and cultural attractions await visitors of the region: excavation sites to marvel at, palaces and castles such as Schloss Seggau to visit, museums that tell a host of stories, and architectural masterpieces that are already shaping the future.
Since its creation in 1990, the hamuG (Hallstatt period museum in Großklein) has set itself the task of preserving and conveying the rich archaeological heritage of Großklein and the surrounding area. Special emphasis is placed on scientific archaeological knowledge and high-quality educational media installations. In combination with the reconstructed Hallstatt period village on the Burgstallkogel, connected to the princely tumuli via a hiking trail, the new museum offers locals and visitors a unique and holistic experience of the historic cultural landscape of Großklein. Promoting the products from the Heriterra brand, the new museum has become a unique meeting place of past and future, archeology and tourism.
Arbeitskreis Falkenberg
Herrengasse 12, 8750 Judenburg, Austria
Visitors at Museum Murtal explore the Hallstatt-period almost 3000 years ago and get to see treasures from Strettweg, home of the famous “Kultwagen”. The excavations of four hill graves in 2012 revealed artful Pottery, iron Weapons and Jewellery from bronze, amber and gold. The visitors are taken on a time travel to this mysterious period and learn about the fascinating methods of modern archaeology.
Highlights:
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Grave of the Cult Waggon with new found pieces of the Waggon and impressive jewellery from amber, bronze and gold
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„Helmet-grave“: princely grave with artful pottery and weapons from bronze and iron
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Interactive journey into the Hallstatt period and to other archaeological highlights from the Murau-Murtal region
Historischer Arbeitskreis Neumarkter Hochtal
Meraner Weg 2d, 8820 Neumarkt in der Steiermark, Austria
http://www.historischer-arbeitskreis-neumarkt.at/
The nature park Zirbitzkogel-Grebenzen, nestled between mount Zirbitzkogel (2,296 m) and mount Grebenzen (1,892 m), is a natural Styrian jewel and a holiday destination fit for nature lovers. The NaturLesen (Reading Nature) scheme is unique in the world and can be found across the NaturLesePark, on the Via Natura, on the NaturLese hiking trail, in the NaturLese gardens and on the NaturLese islands, encouraging Neumarkt’s visitors to discover and ‘read’ nature, art and philosophy.
The surroundings of Neumarkt are rich in historical testimonies and archaeological finds – from the Neolithic to the Early Middle Ages – which deserve scientific analysis and broader interest. HistAK Neumarkt offers a platform for knowledge exchange between an interested public and science. Founded in 2015, the association has set itself the task of comprehensively reviewing the settlement history of the Neumarkt high valley and providing the results for the benefit of the region. The three pillars of the association's work are:
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Collection and archiving of research results
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Finds documentation and preservation of the results
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To enable scientific processing
The aim of our work is to preserve and communicate the knowledge of our past to the people and visitors of Neumarkt – today and in the future.
Natural History Museum Vienna, Department of Prehistory
Burgring 7,
1010 Vienna, Austria
https://www.nhm-wien.ac.at/forschung/praehistorie
The Natural History Museum Vienna is one of the largest museums and non-university research institutions in Austria. It is home to more than 30 million objects from botany, zoology, physical anthropology, mineralogy, palaeontology, and archaeology. More than 100.000 of them are presented in the exhibition rooms covering 8.460 m².
The Department of Prehistory with its focus on humanities represents the completion in the evolutionary main-concept of the NHM. Current research of the department implicates a strong intradisciplinary focus, e.g. on significant Austrian sites such as Hallstatt (mines and cemetery, Bronze and Iron Ages), Grub Kranawetberg, and Willendorf (Palaeolithic), Roseldorf (Late Iron Age) and Brunn am Gebirge (Neolithic and Migration Period).
The Prehistoric Collection holds a considerable share of objects from the former Habsburg Monarchy territory, but also from recent research in Austria (over 120.000 inventory numbers, consisting of ca. 800.000 individual objects). They illustrate the important cultural flows and groups that inhabited Central Europe over the last few thousand years or came in from other regions.
Natural History Museum Vienna, Prehistoric Department, Hallstatt branch, UNESCO World Heritage Hallstatt-Dachstein/Salzkammergut
Field Office Hallstatt “Alte Schmiede”, Am Salzberg
4830 Hallstatt, Austria
https://www.salzwelten.at/en/hallstatt/discover-experience
At Hallstatt „Alte Schmiede“ in the Salzberg valley, together with the mining company Salinen Austria AG und Salzwelten GmbH, a research- and dissemination centre concerning the archaeology of the site, the historical landscape and the history of salt has been established as a branch of the Natural History Museum Vienna.
In 1846, Johann Georg Ramsauer was the first to systematically examine the grave remains of the cemetery that was occupied in the Hallstatt and Early La Tène periods. It is precisely because of his documentations and the remarkable artefacts that gave the Early Iron Age in Central Europe its common name – the Hallstatt period.
There is a long tradition for the Natural History Museum in Vienna to carry out excavations in the area of the cemetery and the salt mine. Also, during modern construction work, more and more archaeologically relevant structures have been identified in recent years. For example, well-preserved components of a wooden construction from the Late Bronze Age have been uncovered.
Inside the prehistoric mining areas, thousands of objects and tools made of organic material have been perfectly preserved and provide extremely detailed insights into the living and working conditions of the Bronze Age and Early Iron Age mining communities. Hallstatt is thus a key site for understanding and researching prehistoric communities.
Landscape archaeological research has focused on the reconstruction of the networks surrounding the salt mines, tracing routes and material flows. The investigation of environmental archives allows ever deepening insights into the co-evolution of the human-environment system. Questions of vulnerability and resilience can also be investigated.
