Blog post curiosity

Room service at the museum?

Yes, it exists. With freshly made beds, each year the eleven bedrooms of the Folklore Museum start into the new museum season. In spring, the cleaning staff take straw sacks, mattresses, under-blankets, top blankets, and pillows out of their winter storage to air them. The beds, cribs, and cradles are prepared with sheet sets and covers and equipped with bed warmers, bedpans, and chamber pots. This way, they can be presented to visitors.

In total, 27 pillows and 22 feather duvets must be covered, along with 19 bottom sheets and 13 top sheets, some of which are richly embroidered. Of course, everything is freshly washed and ironed!

Text: Irene Sapelza
Photo: Hermann Maria Gasser

Blog post „whispering – rumours – shouting. Taverns and the Peasants' War 1525“

Peasants’ War 1525 in Tyrol – Rebellion, actors and memory

16th September 2025

After the years of plague, the population began to grow again, but economic hardship and new obligations worsened the situation. In particular, forced labor (corvée) and administrative changes fueled growing unrest in the countryside.

From 1516, resistance against the authorities began to form in the Eisack Valley and Puster Valley. In 1524, news of peasant uprisings in southwestern Germany reached Tyrol and triggered a rebellion there as well.

On May 9, 1525, Peter Passler was released from prison, and Michael Gaismair was elected leader. Neustift Monastery was attacked, and administrative documents were deliberately destroyed – a direct assault on the power of the landed nobility.

Despite initial successes, the uprising was brutally suppressed by princely mercenaries. By October 1525, the old order had been restored.

What did a tavern look like around 1525?

The special exhibition features a reconstructed tavern room with the original ceiling paneling from an inn in Kurtinig (South Tyrolean Unterland).

It serves as the backdrop for the actors and social groups of the time – reconstructed based on historical sources.

Special exhibition „whispering – rumours – shouting. Taverns and the Peasants' War 1525“

in collaboration with the City Archive of Bruneck

10th May – 9th November 2025

extended until 30th June 2026

Blog post „whispering – rumours – shouting. Taverns and the Peasants' War 1525“

Daily Life and Social Connections
17th July 2025

In the early 16th century, the tavern was more than just a place to eat and drink – it was a social hub. Locals, travelers, and merchants met here to exchange news and opinions. The innkeeper and innkeeper’s wife cared for guests from all social classes, making the tavern a space where social boundaries were temporarily flexible.

Meals were mostly eaten with a spoon and knife, as forks were still rare. Facts, half-truths, rumors, and deliberate misinformation circulated freely. Pamphlets were read aloud and explained with illustrations, giving even those who could not read access to political and religious ideas.

The tavern was thus an early site of public opinion and a hub of information exchange.

Special exhibition „whispering – rumours – shouting. Taverns and the Peasants' War 1525“

in collaboration with the City Archive of Bruneck

10th May – 9th November 2025

extended until 30th June 2026

Blog post „whispering – rumours – shouting. Taverns and the Peasants' War 1525“

Europe around 1500 – Upheaval, crisis, and new ideas
9th May 2025

Around 1500, Europe experienced profound changes. Voyages of discovery expanded the worldview, while the invention of the printing press accelerated the spread of knowledge and ideas.

At the same time, social and economic problems worsened: inflation, crop failures, and rising taxes weighed heavily on the rural population.

The Church held great political and economic influence. Abuses, concentration of power, and calls for reform fueled growing criticism. New religious movements, such as the Reformation, increasingly gained followers.

Europe was in a transitional phase between the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period – marked by hope, uncertainty, and conflict.

Special exhibition „whispering – rumours – shouting. Taverns and the Peasants' War 1525“

in collaboration with the City Archive of Bruneck

10th May – 9th November 2025

extended until 30th June 2026