Once a prison and a brewery: Bräuhaus celebrates 10 years of cultural activity

Ten years ago, the converted, listed brewery was opened as an event center and music school with the “Sternstunden” concert. Since then there have been many great moments at concerts, theater performances and weddings. The anniversary will be celebrated in style tomorrow, Friday.

The state music school, which is currently attended by 450 children and young people, is inviting people to an open day from 2 p.m. The “Schorgel” is set up in front of the brewery. In this organ playground, which is being set up at various locations related to the famous composer on the occasion of the Anton Bruckner anniversary, organ pipes are played by rocking and seesawing together.

The ceremony and the festival concert, organized by the music school, will begin at 6 p.m. and will include, among other things, a Bruckner work. Pamela Ecker will paint a live work of art under the motto “Sound and Color”. A film about Bruckner’s traces in Eferding will also be shown. The “Bruckner organ”, which the composer played in Linz Cathedral, is now owned by the Starhemberg family and is still used at concerts in Eferding Castle.

For music school director Thomas Beiganz, the Bräuhaus is a gem. “We feel very comfortable in this historic building, one benefit is that we have the large hall at our disposal; everything can take place here, from plays to pop concerts,” emphasizes Beiganz, who is organizing the anniversary program with Hans Gaiswinkler and his team.

First mentioned in 1597

Mayor Christian Penn and City Councilor for Culture Astrid Zehetmair emphasize that the Bräuhaus has developed into an important event location in the region and is very well received.

The brewery was first mentioned in documents in 1597, actually housed a brewery and was used as a beer depot until the second half of the 20th century. The revitalization of the building was already discussed politically in the 1980s, but it was ultimately decided that converting it into a cultural center was the best solution.

A curiosity that you wouldn’t expect in an event center are the eight prison cells on the upper floor. Until 1848, criminals paid for their crimes in the prison. At that time, preserving the cells was a requirement of the monument office. Instruments, sheet music and files are now stored there.