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Ms Rädler, the Women‘s museum in Hittisau is clearly a somewhat unusual cultural project. You don‘t have the usual white walls and sombre atmosphere that we‘re used to in other museums. Was this a big change for you at the beginning? Perhaps even nerve wracking? How did you feel about it personally?
We are a group of museum custodians of all ages. Between 25 and 75, and of course there was a lot of different in-put and ideas. Personally, I think that as soon as you have worked here for a while and start to feel the atmosphere, you soon notice the qualities that the rooms have.
Wood from the Silver Fir has been used consistently inside the rooms and outside on the facade. How does that effect you personally? Could you describe the atmosphere in the rooms a bit more for the people who visit the museum?
Personally, I really like working in these rooms. For example, it‘s quite pleasant to walk barefoot on the untreated wooden floors, and I always tell my groups that they are welcome to walk around barefoot when it‘s warm outside. People are always asking about the untreated Silver Fir wood on the floors, walls and ceilings. They seem to be really taken with this unusual building material, probably because it is unexpected and yet a quite pleasant experience. Not only is the wood unusual, but having a Women‘s museum in the Bregenzerwald is also an usual project. Does this demonstrate a women‘s revolution, or is it an admission of the fact that the women in the Bregenzerwald have always had very prominent roles?
You‘re right. Women in the Bregenzerwald have always had the reputation of being very strong. This is why the suggestion from Elisabeth Stöckler, the curator, to establish a women‘s museum was agreed to quite quickly first by the mayor and the town council and in the end by the people themselves.
What have you encountered? Do men also come here? Are men even interested in subjects that are commonly accepted as things that concern women?
We aren‘t specialised in women‘s subjects alone. The current exhibition, for example, is called „The world behind the things“ and is concerned with traditional beliefs in the Bregenzerwald, ancient fertility rituals, the piety of the people and everyday magic. These are subjects that men are also interested in, and so they come to our museum.
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