Silver, Lead & Peasants' War
Michael Gaismair and mining
From 1 July 2026, the South Tyrol Mining Museum at its Ridnaun site will present the special exhibition “Silver, Lead & Peasants’ War”. The exhibition focuses on a key chapter in Tyrolean history: the Peasants’ Revolt of 1525, the role of Michael Gaismair, and the economic interests surrounding mining.
Michael Gaismair is regarded as one of the best-known leaders of the Peasants’ Revolt in Tyrol. Yet he himself was not a peasant. Why, then, did he become such an important leading figure in a peasant uprising? The exhibition explores this question and places mining at the centre as a space of economic and social conflict.
The conflicts of the period reached far beyond the opposition between peasants and the authorities. With the growing influence of major trading families such as the Fuggers, smaller entrepreneurs and mining shareholders also came under pressure. Gaismair’s closeness to the peasant movement was part of this wider conflict between local interests and supraregional financial and trading powers.
“Silver, Lead & Peasants’ War” connects the history of the Peasants’ Revolt with current questions about resource extraction, economic power, globalisation, capitalism, and social inequality. At its centre are developments that extend from the beginnings of capitalist expansion to the present day.
The exhibition is open at the South Tyrol Mining Museum until 8 November 2026.
Michael Gaismair is regarded as one of the best-known leaders of the Peasants’ Revolt in Tyrol. Yet he himself was not a peasant. Why, then, did he become such an important leading figure in a peasant uprising? The exhibition explores this question and places mining at the centre as a space of economic and social conflict.
The conflicts of the period reached far beyond the opposition between peasants and the authorities. With the growing influence of major trading families such as the Fuggers, smaller entrepreneurs and mining shareholders also came under pressure. Gaismair’s closeness to the peasant movement was part of this wider conflict between local interests and supraregional financial and trading powers.
“Silver, Lead & Peasants’ War” connects the history of the Peasants’ Revolt with current questions about resource extraction, economic power, globalisation, capitalism, and social inequality. At its centre are developments that extend from the beginnings of capitalist expansion to the present day.
The exhibition is open at the South Tyrol Mining Museum until 8 November 2026.
