Image: Celtic village
Every year, around 15,000 visitors immerse themselves in the everyday life of people around 2,700 years ago in the Celtic village of Mitterkirchen. An impressive and, above all, constant number, but which – of this one is convinced in Mitterkirchen – could be increased if there were the possibility of presenting the finds brought to light in the 1980s on site. The finds from Mitterkirchen are currently only on display in the Castle Museum in Linz. The absence of these original pieces also prevents the desired museum seal of approval from being awarded.
The Keltendorf association is now attempting to exhibit at least some of the finds permanently in the open-air museum in Machland. It is true that one will not be able to afford one’s own museum building including the necessary security and air conditioning technology, but there are well advanced plans for exhibition containers that can be clad on the outside according to the Hallstatt period. “This is an important project for the Celtic village. We have prepared a concept that enables our finds to be processed in an attractive and affordable environment,” says former Mitterkirch mayor Anton Aichinger, who has been committed to the Celtic village for years.
The containers would be set up at the bus parking lot in the south of the open-air museum. In the immediate vicinity of the “Herrinnenhalle” built in 2018, this new part of the Celtic village could strengthen the importance of the complex, so the conviction.
Jutta Leskovar, collection manager for prehistory and early history at the Landesmuseum Oberösterreich, has been providing scientific advice to the Celtic village for many years, and would also guarantee the required quality for the new exhibition area. A project from the EU regional funding program LEADER is being developed for financing.
The Celtic village of Mitterkirchen was established in 1991 near the site of an archaeological excavation of a burial site from the Hallstatt period. The grave field included 80 graves from the Hallstatt period and more than 1000 remarkable grave goods. The open-air museum currently has 20 buildings. Some of them, like the 120-person Herrinnenhalle, can be rented for events.
Source: Nachrichten
