About us
Three institutions under one roof
The Ötztal Museums merge the historical museums of the Ötztal valley into a multifaceted cultural offering and thus provide a diverse and unique combination of approaching the region: With the Gedächtnisspeicher (Memory House) at the core, the Ötztal Museums provide both the historical and living memory of the valley. With the Turmmuseum (Tower Museum) at the entrance of the valley, we encourage visitors to engage with images of the self and others in art and history. With the Heimatmuseum (Home Museum), along with its open-air ensemble of museum-farmhouses, visitors are invited to delve deeper into the historical everyday life and work of mountain farmers and how the valley underwent societal changes throughout the past. The combination of these approaches under one “roof” is a significant part of our work as a museum collective.
Mission statement
The Ötztal Museums are places of identity formation with the regard to the present and future of the Ötztal valley. These places are where cultural heritage is collected, preserved, researched, presented, and communicated. Central to this are the questions: Where do we come from? Who are we? Where are we going?
The Ötztal Museums are places of encounter. We provide spaces for exchange, discussion, and a room for diversity of perspectives. The goal of the Ötztal Museums is a broad anchoring in the region; the museum team is constantly engaged with questions of identity and recognizes the museums at the interface between past, present, and future. The museums are open to all residents and all guests of the valley. Cooperation and networking are thus important to the Ötztal Museums’ operating principles and approach.
The Ötztal Museums are places of education. Wherever possible, historical issues are dealt with that take into account their relevance to the present. This includes issues of controversy; we set forth a holistic and interdisciplinary approach to history, present, and future.
The cornerstones of the work of the Ötztal Museums
Collection (analogous to the “collection concept” of the Ötztal Museums)
Research (deepening knowledge and recognizing new connections)
Communication (by means of a comprehensive variety of methods) to a broader audience
Team
MMag. Dr. Edith Hessenberger
Managing Director
Mag. Dr. Verena Sauermann
Research
Annine Seebacher, MA BA
Archives
Laura Kogler, BA
Tour Mediation
Nicole Jeitner
Office Management
Stefan Gruber
Cash desk, visitor communication
Barbara Pfaundler
Cash desk, visitor communication
Christoph Kuprian
Cash desk, visitor communication
Museum associations
The Ötztal Museums and their collections have been built up over decades in an honorary capacity by the members of the Turmmuseumsverein and the Ötztaler Heimatverein. The Ötztal Museums work in close cooperation with these associations. We cordially invite you to join the associations as a member and support the work of the Ötztal Museums.
Support
The Ötztal Museums are financed by the Department of Culture of the State of Tyrol, by Ötztal Tourism as well as by the Ötztal valley municipalities of Sautens, Oetz, Umhausen, Längenfeld and Sölden. We are also supported by the Ötztal valley’s Raiffeisen banks.
Cooperation partners
ArteVent
erbe Kulturraum Sölden
Kulturraum Haiming
Naturpark Ötztal
Ötzidorf
Ötztal Tourismus
Pro Vita Alpina
Tiroler Landesmuseen
Tiroler Volkskunstmuseum
Universität Innsbruck
What you can do
As a publicly-funded cultural institution, we look forward to receiving any support – from voluntary work in a wide variety of areas to donations to the Ötztal Museums. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us at: info@oetztalermuseen.at
Visitors’ information
Turmmuseum
Opening Hours
Mid-December to Easter:
Thursdays to Sundays from 14:00–18:00
June to October:
Wednesdays to Sundays from 14:00–18:00
Guided tours by appointment are also possible outside opening hours.
Entrance Fees
The entrance fee to our museums is freely selectable. At the entrance to the museums there ist a box in which you can place your chosen admission fee.
For participants in bus tours and organized tour groups, we ask that you contact us at Info@oetztalermuseen.at an request a refund of EUR 50 entry fee.
Guided group tours
Recommended group size 10-15 persons, max. 20 persons
Approx. duration: 1h–1.5h
Flat rate: EUR 60
Contact/Address
Turmmuseum Oetz
Schulweg 2
6433 Oetz
+43 (0)664 910 23 21
info@oetztalermuseen.at
Parking spaces are available in the immediate vicinity of the museum as well as in the Oetz town center (subject to a fee).
Public transport: Bus station “Oetz – Gemeindeamt“ (see fahrplan.vvt.at)
Heimatmuseum
Opening Hours
1 June – 30 September:
Mondays to Fridays from 10:00–17:00
Sundays from 14:00–17:00
Closed on Saturdays
Additional opening hours in May and October
Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:00–16:00
Guided tours by appointment are also possible outside opening hours.
Entrance Fees
Since 2020, due to the situation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, entrance fees have been waived and are therefore free. We nevertheless appreciate voluntary donations!
Guided group tours
Recommended group size 10-15 persons, max. 20 persons)
Approx. duration: 1.5h–2h
Flat rate: EUR 60
Contact/Address
Heimatmuseum Ötztal
Lehn 24
6444 Oetz
+43 664 910 23 21
info@oetztalermuseen.at
Parking spaces are available 100m south of the museum. Parking fees will be reimbursed by the museum.
Public transport: Bus station “Längenfeld – Lehner Au” (see fahrplan.vvt.at)
Gedächtnisspeicher
Opening Hours
Personal visits by appointment are possible.
Contact/Address
Gedächtnisspeicher Ötztal
Lehn 23b
6444 Längenfeld
+43 664 910 23 21
info@oetztalermuseen.at
Parking spaces are available 100m south of the museum. Parking fees will be reimbursed by the museum.
Public transport: Bus station “Längenfeld – Lehner Au” (see fahrplan.vvt.at)
Communication
Guided Tours and Workshops
We are happy to plan special tours for groups, and we always strive to provide interactive offers. For special offers for schools, please contact us at info@oetztalermuseen.at. The following offers can be booked at any time by appointment.
Guided Groud Tour (Admission fee)
EUR 60 (recommended group size 10-15 persons, max. 20 persons)
Workshops
Possible upon request and depending on expenditures and material costs
Turmmuseum
Themed Tours
The history of Oetz and his tower
Starting from the early history of the village, we explain the towers’ history and within the development of the village (for visitors 15 years old and above)
Soil: Archaeological traces
Here we follow the traces of the people of Ötztal through the millennia: What do bronze brooches from Timmelsjoch, arrowheads from Ötzi’s time, horseshoes or a medieval flip-flop tell us about life in the former Ötztal? (for visitors 15 years old and above)
Guided tour through the current special exhibition on the Ötztaler Glaciers. Catastrophy. Climatchange. Art.
The Ötztal glaciers form one of the largest contiguous ice surfaces in the Eastern Alps. They have been observed, feared, drawn and interpreted by people for over 400 years. A watercolor of the Vernagtferner from 1601 is the oldest depiction of a glacier ever. The view of the Alpine ice giants through the ages is like a playful image of our society (for visitors 15 years old and above).
Guided tour through the current special exhibition on the Ötztaler Glaciers. Catastrophy. Climatchange. Art. FOR KIDS
The images people have of glaciers have changed considerably over time. In the past, people were afraid of the cracking, jagged and willow-eating masses of ice and imagined them as dragons. Later, glaciers were long considered the ideal of a beautiful mountain landscape. Today we say goodbye to the once huge ice giants, as they are melting more and more every year. As part of a creative tour for children and families, we artistically encounter the Ötztal glaciers and questions about the ice giants, their history and future. (for visitors 8 years old and above).
Travel in time through Oetz’s historical town to the Tower Museum (for children and families)
Uncover many secrets about Oetz’s old houses through solving riddles in this puzzle hunt in order to get a small reward at the end (for visitors 6 years old and above)
Creative Workshops
Art kitchen
Inspired by the works of the museum collection, you will learn different techniques in different workshops, from painting, sculpting to writing (for visitors 6 years old and above)
Heimatmuseum
Themed Tours
Classic Tour through the Regional museum
The ensemble around the local history museum in the Längenfeld district of Lehn represents a unique documentation of Ötztal’s cultural and everyday history. During this guided tour, everyday historical practices are explained and anecdotes from people’s lives are told. The question of home is also discussed: Which home is actually meant? And what does this home have to do with a historical mountain farming collection? (for visitors 15 years old and above)
Be a fly on the wall – FOR KIDS
How did people live in Ötztal in the past? What did they eat, how did they survive the winter? What were they afraid of and where was the nearest doctor? Could you simply marry whoever you liked? – In the museum of local history we take a playful approach to the economic and social history of the Ötztal. Together we shed light on the concept of home and consider the processes that create a sense of home. As part of this program, we walk through the various rooms of the museum of local history, which show us what home can mean and how home is constructed. (for visitors 6 years old and above)
Culinary guided tour through the Regional museum
Interesting facts about the history of cuisine and cooking in the Ötztal valley can be learned during this guided tour: What was once grown? What did people eat before potatoes and corn started their triumphal procession? What old varieties can be discovered in the museum garden? At the end, we’ll light some fire at the smoke room where we’ll prepare a traditional meal to enjoy together.
(for visitors 10 years old and above)
From flax to linen
The water-powered farm buildings that comprise the museum area demonstrate the processing of flax and make the many steps from flax seed to linen fabric visible. How important was the processing of the raw material in the past and what are the main economic factors in the valley today?
(for visitors 10 years old and above)
Hydropower at the Lehnbach
Four water-powered mills at the Lehnbach (sawmill, flour mill, the Pluil and the swinging hut) demonstrate the clever use of water for basic work in alpine farming and mountain agriculture. During the tour the mechanisms of the machines are explained, and all the mills are put into operation.
(for visitors 10 years old and above)
People and its livestock
People have been farming livestock since early history. An specific way of alpine farming and econmy were established in this area since the Middle Ages. Since that time, rituals have changed and new discussions have emerged in our daily lives.
Ötztal Worldwide
There are so many connections from the Ötztal into the wide world and so there are connections from the wide word into the Ötztal. There are many many things that are normal to us. But if you take a close look – it was not normal at all just one generation ago – like Coffee, Tea and Flax or Religion. All of them are witnesses of difficult social structures here in the valley and in the wide world.
Turmmuseum 
History
In the middle of the old town center of Oetz, the Tower Museum is easy to find, if only because of its architecture. In the Middle Ages, as farmers’ settlements increased, the “tower” served as the residence of a landed noble family. In recent modern times it was once the administrative seat of the estates of the Frauenchiemsee abbey in the Ötztal valley. After long decades of varied use by the municipality of Oetz, the building was thoroughly renovated and finally opened as a museum in 2004. Shortly afterwards, the Tower Museum was awarded the 2004 Tyrolean Museum Prize.
Collection
The Tower Museum is closely linked to the biography and collection of local art lover and collector Hans Jäger. Throughout his life, Jäger was enthusiastic about furniture, sculptures and especially paintings and photos. This enthusiasm manifests itself in a unique art collection of almost 5,000 objects, which can be seen in turn again and again in the Tower Museum. The works of art range from medieval sacred artworks, to the development of alpine landscape paintings, to sculptures, contemporary art, and photography.
Special Features
The museum has therefore an artistic focus, and here especially on the artistic view of the Ötztal valley as well as on the artistic creation in the region. As Oetz lies at the “entrance” of the valley, the Tower Museum presents views and insights into the region: Images of the Ötztal valley are considered as images of others and of oneself over time and in the eyes of changing viewers. But it is always about perspective: How does the Ötztal valley present itself? How is it seen? How can we approach the essence – the essence of the valley and its inhabitants?
Contact/Address
Turmmuseum Oetz
Schulweg 2
6433 Oetz
+43 (0)664 910 23 21
info@oetztalermuseen.at
Parking spaces are available in the immediate vicinity of the museum as well as in the Oetz town center (subject to a fee).
Public transport: Bus station “Oetz – Gemeindeamt” (see fahrplan.vvt.at)
Heimatmuseum
History
The ensemble around the Home Museum in the Längenfeld suburb of Lehn represents a unique documentation of the Ötztal valley’s cultural and everyday history. As one of the last village centers of the valley to be preserved in almost its original state, the museum area with its historic buildings conveys the social and economic history of the valley like no other ensemble in the valley. The plots of land lie fenceless side by side with formerly functional places such as the oven or the well, which were shared by several families. When at the end of the 1960s the century-old houses finally no longer met modern living standards, the first buildings were acquired by the Ötztaler Heimatverein and converted into a museum. The museum documents the historical rural culture of the valley.
Museum Buildings and Collection
In the Home Museum and its open-air museum buildings, the majority of items displayed are mainly everyday objects – trinkets, utensils, working equipment, and handicraft tools. In the museum garden, formerly important plants are cultivated, such as the Ötztal flax, whose distribution represented the most important additional income of many farming families in the Ötztal valley until the 19th century.
The museum grounds include about 16 historic buildings. They convey to the visitors on the one hand the simple rural everyday life, and on the other hand sophisticated working processes around the production of wool, linen, bread, butter, etc.
Special Features
What seems to be a thing of the past today is brought to life in the Home Museum and open-air museum buildings: flax is grown and processed, the mill grinds, boards are cut in the saw, bread is baked in the oven, potatoes are harvested in the museum field. In this way, we are able to vividly grasp the history and the roots of the Ötztal valley people as it is also possible in the museum to try out old things yourself and experience them with all your senses.
Since 2023 there is a free Audiogudie in German, Ötztalerisch and English available. Earphones are recomended.
Contact/Address
Heimatmuseum Ötztal
Lehn 24
6444 Oetz
+43 (0)664 910 23 21
info@oetztalermuseen.at
Parking spaces are available 100m south of the museum. Parking fees will be reimbursed by the museum.
Public transport: Bus station “Längenfeld – Lehner Au” (see fahrplan.vvt.at)
Gedächtnisspeicher
History
The walls of the house at Lehn 23b, which now houses the Gedächtnisspeicher (“memory house”) that stores the valley’s heritage, date back to the 2nd half of the 15th century. It originally had two residential floors that were not connected to each other and served as a home to two families for centuries. In 2006, the house was purchased by the Ötztaler Heimatverein and renovated with Interreg and LEADER funds. In 2013, the house was opened as a “storehouse” of the valley’s “memory” with the aim to establish itself as the memory of the Ötztal valley.
Administration, Archive and Library
The Gedächtnisspeicher represents the core of the Ötztal museums in two respects. On the one hand, it is the seat of the museums’ administration; on the other hand, through its extensive library focused on regional history as well as a comprehensive archive, the knowledge that nourishes the content-related work of the Ötztal Museums is stored here. Here, research, documentation, and collection come together and are communicated through the museum facilities of the Ötztal Museums, their event rooms as well as at external locations in the valley (via excursions etc.).
Special Features
The Gedächtnisspeicher has aims to be a user-friendly archive. The involvement of the population through discussions, lectures and individual talks is indispensable. The task of the Memory House is not merely to archive data and documents. The broader aim is also to offer an attractive and active service point for regional historical information, which is always in cooperation with experts as well as university institutions.
Rental Service
In the attic of the Gedächtnisspeicher there is a multi-purpose room which can be used as a seminar or event room. Renting this room is possible upon request. The room is equipped with a small kitchenette, tables, and chairs. A beamer, screen and whiteboard can be provided. The usable area is about 50m². If you are interested, please send your request to info@oetztalermuseen.at.
Contact/Address
Gedächtnisspeicher Ötztal
Lehn 23b
6444 Längenfeld
+43 (0)664 910 23 21
info@oetztalermuseen.at
Parking spaces are available 100m south of the museum. Parking fees will be reimbursed by the museum.
Public transport: Bus station “Längenfeld – Lehner Au” (see fahrplan.vvt.at)
