The museum collection
The collection of the South Tyrol Mining Museum currently comprises around 5,500 catalogued positions, many of which consist of sets or groups of objects. What makes the collection unique is its origin: the museum emerged almost directly after the closure of the mines in Prettau (1971) and Ridnaun (1985). As a result, valuable contemporary testimonies of active mining operations could be taken over immediately, including the complete spare parts inventory of the final machinery and vehicle fleet in Ridnaun. To this day, thousands of spare parts remain stored in the original depot rooms, preserved as impressive collection holdings.
But it was not only tools and machines that made their way into the museum. Scientific exploration of the mining areas also left its mark: drill cores, rock and soil samples, laboratory equipment and documentation of early surveys - thousands of traces of geological research in the twentieth century that are now part of our collection.
In the permanent exhibitions, the focus lies on the people. Personal keepsakes, private photographs and authentic work utensils tell the stories of the miners who worked in Ridnaun, on the Schneeberg and in Prettau during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, often under extremely harsh conditions. Everyday objects have become cultural artifacts, silent witnesses to a turbulent past.
The South Tyrol Mining Museum also continues to actively collect objects relating to mining across South Tyrol: from keepsakes and everyday items belonging to former miners to historical documents and material samples in the form of ores, rocks and slags from different deposits. The collection is therefore continuously expanding.
Not all of the roughly 50,000 existing objects have been digitally recorded yet. All catalogued items can be viewed in the online database of museum and archive collections in South Tyrol.
But it was not only tools and machines that made their way into the museum. Scientific exploration of the mining areas also left its mark: drill cores, rock and soil samples, laboratory equipment and documentation of early surveys - thousands of traces of geological research in the twentieth century that are now part of our collection.
In the permanent exhibitions, the focus lies on the people. Personal keepsakes, private photographs and authentic work utensils tell the stories of the miners who worked in Ridnaun, on the Schneeberg and in Prettau during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, often under extremely harsh conditions. Everyday objects have become cultural artifacts, silent witnesses to a turbulent past.
The South Tyrol Mining Museum also continues to actively collect objects relating to mining across South Tyrol: from keepsakes and everyday items belonging to former miners to historical documents and material samples in the form of ores, rocks and slags from different deposits. The collection is therefore continuously expanding.
Not all of the roughly 50,000 existing objects have been digitally recorded yet. All catalogued items can be viewed in the online database of museum and archive collections in South Tyrol.
Contacts:
Samantha Schneider
Archive, museum depository
