Museum

The “Fåsnåchtshaus” (House of Carnival)

After being owned by the Lechleitner Family for a long time, the house became property of the city of Imst in 1993, which gave it to the officials of the “Fasnacht” as a donation. It took a lot of private initiative (more than 6000 hours of unpaid work!), public funding of the city and state as well as private sponsors (Messerschmitt- und Haveland-Stiftung) until the run-down building under monument protection due to its rare wall murals and its ancient vaults was renovated into what we see today. What used to be the domestic area is now an archive, preserving the many masks, instruments, costumes etc. that are given out to active participants, once it’s yet again time to take the carnival to the streets.

Cleverly executed conception

What used to be a barn has now been transformed into a museum. The architects Dietmar Ewerz and Martin Gamper planned the contemporary yet preserving arrangement by combining traditional structures with new, state of the art elements. The exhibition’s concept is mainly based on the works of local film director Markus Heltschl. Other modern forms of media presenting what the museum has to offer are in use as well; panorama-projection, 3D pictures, and audio- and video-installations can also be admired when visiting the exhibition.

It was the neatly hung “Larven” (wooden masks) in the main hall, the almost life-sized pictures of the figures participating in the carnival in combination with the original and architectural execution is what got the museum its awards; among them the “Museumspreis des Landes Tirol” (Museum-award of the state of Tyrol) in 2003 and the “Österreichisches Museumsgütesiegel” (Austrian Museum’s seal of quality) in 2008, 2012 and 2017.

Interesting Details

Part of the mentioned architectural achievements are the plastered entryway (since the Fasnacht itself takes place in the streets of Imst) as well as the large window with view of the cemetery and the nearby “Pfarrkirche” (The large town’s parish church), in stark contrast to the joyful “Schemenlaufen”, providing an important touch of “memento mori” when paying the museum a visit. Not only the mentioned awards but also the Spirit Award rewarded by the Ministry of Education (for a scholarly project) are proof of the architects’ successful work.

Remarkable is also the former barn in which the seven steps of the making of the infamous wooden masks are displayed. Ranking from the simple log of wood all towards the finished product, wood carver Luggi Schnegg is to thank for the impressive installation of the work behind these small works of art.