Wienerwaldmuseum

Wienerwaldmuseum Eichgraben

Useful Information

Location:	Hauptstraße 17, 3032 Eichgraben. A1 exit Dürrwien, B44 6 km. (48.176326, 15.993010)
Open:	All year Wed, Thu 8-12, Sat, Hol 14-17, Sun 10-12, 14-17. [2021]
Fee:	Adults EUR 5, Children (6-18) EUR 3, Children (0-5) free, Students EUR 3, Seniors EUR 3, Family EUR 8. Groups (10+): Adults EUR 4, Children (6-18) EUR 1.50. [2021]
Classification:	Cave Replica
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:	Ar=10 m².
Guided tours:	n/a
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	yes
Bibliography:
Address:	Wienerwaldmuseum Eichgraben, Hauptstraße 17, A-3032 Eichgraben, Tel: +43-2773-46904, Fax: +43-2773-46904-14. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

~1500	Auhof first mentioned.
1960	farming ended, used as a residential building.
1980s	Parish priest Gerhard Anderle collects objects and stores them in the rectory and in the tower of the Wienerwald Cathedral.
01-MAY-1991	local history museum opened to the public.
1994	start of development as museum and meeting place.
1998	old local history museum in Kirchenstraße is closed.
23-OCT-1999	Museum inaugurated.

Description

The Wienerwaldmuseum is a museum about the history, the culture, and the nature of the Wienerwald, a hillcountry south of Wien (Vienna). It was created by the honorary work of more than 20 inhabitants of the village Eichgraben. They invested 15,000 hours of work and collected 35,000 Euros to open this museum in a former farm, the Auhof. This farm has a very long tradition, as it was first mentioned 500 years ago. The collection is based on the work of parish priest Gerhard Anderle. In the 1980s he collected various objects from Eichgraben's past and stored them in the rectory and in the tower of the Wienerwald Cathedral.

But showcaves.com is a website about caves and mines, not about farms. We list this museum because of its interesting geologic exhibition, which also contains an artificial cave, made by the artist Georg Franzke. This cave, also known as KuMst-Höhle, is open for the visitors to go in and learn about how it is to hide in a cave. Unlike other exhibits, this one is intended to visit and explore. The are even boulders and wood where the visitor may sit down.

The cave has a direct relation to the Wienerwald, as 280 caves are known in this area. They are normally rather small and often narrow, unlike the famous Austrian show caves, but they have a high importance for archaeology and palaeontology. Numerous caves in the area are open to the hiker who explores the area on one of the many trails. But there is only one show cave nearby, the Showcave Allander Tropfsteinhöhle (Dripstone Cave of Alland).

The geologic exhibition is well worth a visit as it explains numerous regional specialities. The main resources of the area are gypsum and coal. Other resources are gold from the Danube, iron and aluminium ore, quartz and flint, and much more.