Description of the attraction
The Kufstein Fortress and Local Lore Museum is located in a powerful local fortress, which used to be poetically called the "Key to Tyrol".
In 1905, objects from the Bronze Age were found in the Eschinger Garden, near the current cemetery. These artifacts stunned the inhabitants of Kufstein so much that they decided to organize a History Club. The purpose of this society was the construction of a historical museum and the collection of items related to the history of the native city and its environs. The following year, private investors were found who helped organize an archaeological excavation in the Tishofer Cave. Everything discovered there immediately became part of the collection of the Historical Club. In 1908, two rooms of the lower floor of the barracks of the local castle were allocated for the museum. And on June 29, 1908, the first museum in Kufstein opened its doors to visitors. In 1913, the Kufstein Fortress and Local Lore Museum occupied the premises of the Upper Castle. Over the next years, it was expanded and rebuilt.
In addition to archaeological and paleontological finds, the museum contains artifacts telling about the history of the city and the fortress, folk art objects, religious relics, paintings by artists from Kufstein. There are also extensive zoological and geological collections.
Unexpectedly for the organizers, the museum became very popular. Every year more and more people visited it. So, in the 60s of the last century, it was visited by 60 thousand guests per year. Currently, the local fortress is one of the most visited museum sites in Austria.
