Museum ArcheKult

ARCHEKULT introduces itself. The exhibition room has been air-conditioned since July. Twice in its more than five-thousand-year history, Traunkirchen was an important center of the Salzkammergut: first in the Bronze and Iron Ages as a traffic hub and intermediary region in the salt trade and for supplying the Hallstatt miners with food and operating materials, and then in the Middle Ages and early modern period, when the monastery of the Benedictine nuns and later the Jesuits represented a political, economic, and cultural center and formed the suburb of an extensive parish network that stretched north to Pinsdorf and south to Hallstatt and Aussee. The spectacular grave finds from the "Klettenwiese" in the "Klöd" district and from the courtyard of the former monastery not only bear witness to the supra-regional importance of the settlement and its sanctuary on the Johannesberg in the late Bronze Age and older Hallstatt period (1000 - 600 BC), but also to the wealth of its inhabitants. Under the motto "Preserving the past - shaping the future," some Traunkirchen residents have come together to form the ARCHEKULT cultural association. The primary goal is to bring the most valuable archaeological finds from the Bronze and Hallstatt periods back to Traunkirchen and make them accessible to the public. This is currently being done in the form of display cases that can be visited in some public spaces (municipal office with exhibition room, Stiftersaal in the monastery, Hotel Traunsee, Cafe Johannesberg, Spitzvilla, Klosterstube); however, the goal that is being worked on with emphasis is the establishment of an Archaeological Center with a museum and library. The association has also set itself the task of enriching cultural life in the community through readings, lectures, concerts, exhibitions, and other events. The highlight each year in autumn is the Festival for Archaeology, which focuses on a lecture by a prominent archaeologist. In recent years, the scientists of the year Sabine Ladstätter and Wolfgang Neubauer have been guests in Traunkirchen. In cooperation with the municipality, this cultural program is being expanded; it should offer something for everyone, for young people as well as for older generations. With the Klostersaal, Traunkirchen has an event venue available whose ambiance and flair alone are worth a visit.