1st April to 11th November 2012

Travel and photography are inextricably linked. Collect impressions in pictures belongs to the travel experience - once with paper and pen, today with a digital camera.
Holidaymakers use the camera to come up to their travel destination. They photograph common postcard motifs, but they also find surprising and new perspectives. The exhibition shows Kaltern through the lens of the guest: in a different way and yet well known.

A photographic exhibition in collaboration with the Kaltern Tourist Association.

1st April to 20th May 2012

Pollard willows have been a typical and necessary part of our cultural landscape for many centuries. With changes in land use and lifestyle, knowledge of the willow trees is more and more forgotten and the witnesses to our cultural history are disappearing from the landscape. The South Tyrolean Landscape Foundation has documented the remaining stocks and the practical knowledge in the area of Überetsch and Unterland. The travelling exhibition “treasures of our landscape” showed the results of this project.

1st April to 11th November 2011

Matthias Ladurner-Parthanes (1894–1986), winegrower, local historian and co-founder of the South Tyrolean Wine Museum, published a work on the cultural history of viticulture in 1972 and illustrated it with his own drawings.
The special exhibition 2011 was dedicated to the author and his work, selected historical utensils and special features of South Tyrolean viticulture.

1st April 2007 to 11th November 2008

For centuries, the vinedresser's sickle was a versatile tool in viticulture. Farmers used it to bind the vines, to defoliate and to harvest. The knife makers made ordinary and also particularly richly decorated vine knives, which they provided with their maker's mark and with hallmarked defense signs.

From work tool to collector's item 
In the middle of the 20th century, the pruning shears replaced the sickle-shaped knife. The vine knife remained in the world of wine as a traditional, rural symbol.

1st to 18th April 2006

The initiative wein.kaltern has taken up a series of portraits while working on the book "Weinlese", which was presented in mid-April 2006. The photos make a good addition to the texts in the book. The photographers Manuela Tessaro and Alberto Franceschi took moving pictures of people from Kaltern. All portraits were shown in the South Tyrolean Wine Museum in a photo exhibition.

4th May to 31st Oktober 2006

Wine and grape in religion

Wine plays an important role in the Christian tradition. There are a number of stories and parables associated with wine in the Bible. Wine is mentioned in more than 500 times. It is praised in the Psalms as a means of joy in life. The Bible mentions also that consumed moderately it has a good effect on health. Wine is a beverage, stimulant and unfortunately also intoxicant.

Wine and grape in art

Wine, vine and grape are common themes in Christian art. The South Tyrolean Wine Museum keeps an interesting collection of objects of religious folk art. Among them are the motif of Christ in the wine press as well as representations of saints, in particular the saint Urban, patron of the winegrowers and the coopers. His picture can be found on flags, church windows and chapels.

The altar wine, a special wine

Until the second half of the 15th century, red wine was used as altar wine. The red wine was considered a symbol of the blood of Christ. Since the wine is of great importance in the celebration of the Eucharist, it must have certain properties. The most recent wine regulations date from 1976. The wine must be clear, natural and without added sugar. Whoever delivers the altar wine has to swear under oath that the wine complies with the regulations.

1st May to 11th September 2005

Erika Groth-Schmachtenberger (1906–1992) worked as a photographer all over Europe. She attended the "Bavarian State College for Photography" in Munich and then started her career as a press photographer. In the years 1932–1942 she worked as a freelancer for the magazine "Illustrierter Rundfunk" and for the "Münchner Illustrierte". Until 1982 she worked as a photographer for magazines and publishing houses and also published some books. After she retired, she sold a large part of her photo collection, which is now owned by more than 40 archives. In 1992 Erika Groth-Schmachtenberger died in Würzburg, where she spent the years before her death.

Erika Groth-Schmachtenberger and South Tyrol

Erika Groth-Schmachtenberger was in South Tyrol several times in the 1950s and 1960s, but never without her photo equipment. In her pictures she captured the country and its people. After her retirement, she bequeathed all of her South Tyrol photos due to good contacts with the then director Dr. Hans Grießmair, the South Tyrolean Folklore Museum in Dietenheim.

In the photo exhibition "Where the wine grows ..." were shown pictures from her archive that deal with the everyday work of South Tyrolean winegrowers and the customs around the wine.

1st September to 11th November 2005

Luis Oberrauch, a passionate photographer

The cellar master, local historian and photographer Luis Oberrauch was born in Bozen on 8th January 1907. In 1922 he attended the agricultural school in Muri-Gries, where he taught the subjects of cellar management and viticulture from 1953. Before that, he worked as a cellar master in a winery in Gries for twenty years. In 1954 he was one of the founders of the South Tyrolean Wine Museum at Ringberg Castle and became its curator. His museum tours, characterized by humor and expertise, were widely known. With passion he also devoted himself to archaeological research and photography. He received several high awards for his services to cultural life in South Tyrol. Shortly after his 85th birthday, on 26th January 1992, Luis Oberrauch died in Brixen.

Home in pictures

Luis Oberrauch loved the country and its people. He was deeply rooted in the farming environment, which he saw threatened by increasing technology. His aim was to preserve the fleeting and to point out the beauties of his homeland. Since there was usually a lack of money at the beginning of his photographic work for photo films, he selected his motifs carefully. His special eye and his enthusiasm for people and nature are reflected in his photos.