Kaprun Museum, Zell am See

Kaprun Museum is a small local history museum inside the Steinerbauernhaus, a protected farmhouse with roots going back around 400 years. Before its rescue in the 1990s, the farmhouse had been left to decay after its final descendant died. Its preserved wooden structure shows older rural building traditions, while its setting among other listed buildings adds to its historical value.

The exhibitions cover nearly 4,000 years of local history, beginning with Bronze Age archaeological finds and moving through farming, village life, costume traditions, tourism, and mountain culture. Before ski lifts, Kaprun was a “mountain guide village” shaped by local alpine knowledge. The museum also presents Pinzgau costumes and, from spring to autumn, Friday bread baking in a historic wood-fired oven.

The museum also explains how the region moved from farming and mountain guiding into modern engineering and tourism. A major section presents the Glockner-Kaprun Power Plant and Mooserboden reservoir as engineering works and post-war symbols. Photos, local objects, and VSF Kaprun’s management connect the museum with community heritage.