Museum at the Nature Park Center
Showcase museum about the everyday life of the Wienerwald farmers
![The "Wienerwaldhaus" at the nature park visitor center, © Naturpark Purkersdorf](http://www.naturpark-purkersdorf.at/images/ir_p4blmxog-/the-wienerwaldhaus-at-the-nature-park-visitor-center.jpg "The "Wienerwaldhaus" at the nature park visitor center, © Naturpark Purkersdorf")
Museum at the Wienerwaldhaus
The core object of the Deutschwald Nature Park Center is the Wienerwaldhaus, which was built by the municipality in 1974 - just in time before the opening of the nature park. On an area of about 100 m2 it contained exhibits on the history of the Wienerwald, the forest workers and Wienerwald farmers, supplemented by a small region-related geological exhibition. Since then, the Nature Park has taken care of this small museum.
Students of the Institute of European Ethnology of the University of Vienna worked out a concept for the redesign and better accessibility of the exhibition contents; the result was the agreement on the redesign as a "showcase museum" without the need for staf. Like this the exhibition can be visited from the outside and the visitors have the possibility to inform themselves about the life as well as objects of the inhabitants of the Wienerwald every day.
In 2002 the interior was redesigned and the building was adapted. The exhibition can now be viewed inside the building with the shutters open; visitors can switch on the lights themselves using light switches that are installed outside. Information boards are located on the inside of the shutters, on the outside wall, as well as in the room. In the room topics for example housekeeping, women's work, living and everyday life are presented.
In the adjacent room, which is freely accessible during the day and can be locked by a wooden grille, primarily forest work is shown, and there are also exhibits on the extraction of ice in the region. There would still be some exhibits about the men's work in the Wienerwald region with the once typical woodworking trades (e.g. rake makers, wood turners, barrel makers), but due to lack of space these could not be exhibited so far.
Opening hours
The museum is freely accessible round the clock from April until the end of October and can be visited from the outside. Voluntary donation for preservation is appreciated.
Access & reachability
The Wienerwaldhaus is located in the Deutschwald Nature Park Center. It takes about 30 minutes to reach the nature park center on foot from the Purkersdorf-Zentrum train station via the Kellerwiese access and the nature trail. A journey by car is not recommended because of the scarce parking space, but if you still want to, you can reach the nature park access Deutschwald at the end of Rudolf-Hanke-Gasse in the Purkersdorf district Deutschwald (navigation address 3002 Rudolf-Hanke-Gasse 12).