Styrian treasures

324 museums guard the history of our province

Objects in the museums have a lot to tell

(Bild: UMJ/J. J. Kucek)

Whether a large provincial museum or a small private collection: Styrian museums do important work, because: Only those who know the past can shape the future.

The year 1811 is a special one for Styria: the Joanneum, the first publicly accessible museum in the province, was opened - once again Archduke Johann was the initiator of an institution that we as Styrians still benefit from today. This not only gave rise to today's Universalmuseum Joanneum, which is currently the second largest museum in Austria with 21 locations.

Apart from the ever-growing state museum, cultural institutions and private collections have also developed up and down the country, which have endeavored and often still endeavor to preserve and research Styrian heritage and make it accessible to the public.

Two thirds of museums run on a voluntary basis
"We currently have 324 active museums, museum-like cultural institutions and private collections in Styria," says Margit Horvath-Suntigner from the Styrian museum association MUSIS. The fact that they exist at all is mainly thanks to volunteers: "Two thirds of these institutions are run on a voluntary basis, only a third have a full-time director - and even they often only work part-time," she says. Without their work, history would be lost.

Exhibition in Graz shows Styrian range
Just how broad and important this work is can currently be seen in the exhibition "Who are you: Styria?" at the Graz Folklore Museum: "We are showing 50 objects from Styrian museums that tell exciting stories about the province," says Elisabeth Schlögl from Museumsforum Steiermark, who helped develop the show.

Curator Alexandra Riewe (center) with Elisabeth Schlögl (left), host Claudia Unger (right) in the show "Who are you: Styria?" in the Graz Folklore Museum

(Bild: UMJ/J.J.Kucek)

From ancient gold treasures to an early pumpkin seed oil press and one of the first guest worker identity cards, these objects are symbolic of our history: "The true value of the objects that are kept in all the museums lies above all in what they tell us about our country, our past and our lives."

Our vision is for Styrian museums to be perceived as socio-politically relevant institutions.

Margit Horvath-Suntinger, MUSIS

And every museum, no matter how small, every single volunteer has a part to play in telling this story. We would like to present a small selection of these stories to you this summer in the series "Treasures of Styria".

Der erste Schatz

Wissen Sie, was man mit einer Ölkuh macht?

1893 - this date is prominently emblazoned on a large wooden block, which can actually be found in the Heimat.Museum im Tabor in Feldbach, but is currently part of the show "Who are you: Styria?" in the Graz Folklore Museum.

The large wooden block is part of a so-called "oil cow", an early form of oil press that was once used to produce seed oil, the green gold of Styria. "It was very time-consuming to produce kernel oil. That's probably why it was called 'gold' back then," explains Beatrice Strohmaier from the Heimat.museum in Tabor. Incidentally, the press is known as an oil cow because oil ran through a narrow opening in such presses: "It looks like the udder of a cow," says Strohmaier.

The year 1893 is significant because it stands for a time when the production of seed oil in Styria - especially in the Raab Valley with its many mills - began to become more professional. However, it was not until the 1970s that kernel oil began its epicurean triumph beyond the borders of Styria. "Today, kernel oil is known to many international gourmets, but for a long time it was actually a very regional phenomenon in Eastern and Southern Styria," says Strohmaier.

And the oil cow was also an important object for the founder of the Heimat.museum in Tabor: "The pumpkin once came from America to Europe with Christopher Columbus. And Leopoldine Thaller, the founder of our museum, also grew up in the USA and only later returned to her Styrian homeland with her parents. She began collecting and building the museum in order to understand the identity of the region," explains Strohmaier.