Maria Althuber, the last farmer of the Sumerauerhof in St. Florian and who died in 1971, would be happy. A lot has happened in the past two years on the Vierkanter, which first appears in documents in 1325 and which was one of the largest farms in the area in 1907 with 21 servants. “We have carefully renovated the interior and traced it back to the year 1855,” says Thekla Weissengruber, the scientific director of the folklore and everyday culture collection of Landes-Kultur GmbH (OÖ LKG).
It cost 500,000 euros to renovate the rooms, which show rural culture with living rooms and bedrooms, utility room, beautiful parlors, agricultural and kitchen equipment from the 19th century. New features are a children’s playground close to nature, a petting zoo with rare local farm animals, an “apple grove” that shows pictures and names of endangered apple varieties on flags like a clothesline, and a small refreshment station. In the end, nothing came of the originally planned cider tavern. The exterior facade will be renovated from autumn, and a historic cottage garden will be added in 2023.
“As a target audience, we address families in a very classic way and build a bridge to art on the first floor. We look forward to school classes and kindergarten visits. Children should be taken back to nature here and play with natural materials next to the animals. It should be a haven of peace,” says Isolde Perndl, the commercial director of OÖ LKG.
The possibility, unusual for museums, of being able to enter all rooms and also be allowed to touch objects is also inviting. Perndl: “We want to break down barriers and hope that visitors will be able to handle them well.”
The exhibition on the upper floor, curated by Sabine Sobotka, shows works by the painter and craftsman Franz von Zülow. A contribution to art that fits the farm, since Zülow has dealt with life in the country in a variety of ways in his work.
- Open-door day: Sunday, June 26, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m
- Opening hours until October 31: Tuesday to Sunday and public holidays 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Admission: Adults 6 euros (concessions 4 euros), families with the state family card 12 euros; Info at www.ooekultur.at
Source: Nachrichten
