Museumsdorf Niedersulz

The creation of Museumsdorf Niedersulz in the Weinviertel is a success story, which began with one man's passion.

Even as a child, Josef Geissler, who was born in Niedersulz, collected religious and architectural objects from the Weinviertel. Today, the open-air museum is a well-known and well-loved tourist destination for visitors outside of Lower Austria - and it is a piece of Weinviertel history.

The start of a lifelong passion

Josef Geissler, born in 1949 in Niedersulz, was the son of a farmer, who collected old bits and pieces from an early age. His love of old and sacred things also reflected his choice of career. He completed training as a church painter and renovated many churches in Lower Austria throughout his professional life. The private passion of the collector never ceased: In 1977, Geissler exhibited his collection of treasures in the abandoned public school in Niedersulz for the first time, in what was known as the Weinviertel Village Museum. As the collection of local artefacts outgrew this space, he acquired 5 hectares of land along the Sulz river from the municipality, which would come to be the site of Museumsdorf Niedersulz in the following years.

Village history brought to life

Since November 1979, continuous work has been carried out to present an ideal Weinviertel village from 1900. Houses, workshops, barns, churches, an inn and a school, even a wine cellar lane with a wine shop have all been rebuilt. Special exhibitions on loam construction, farming life and general day-to-day life in the village are presented in these authentically designed buildings. Cultural educators from blacksmiths, cobblers, wainwrights and other craftsmen share stories about their often difficult living conditions and old craft techniques. Gardens as they would have been at the time have also been replanted. A herb and vegetable garden plus a school garden are recent additions. Over 600 fruit trees producing 400 different varieties of old regional apples and pears, which you can enjoy when they are in season, grow on the site of the open-air village museum. By the way, Josef Geissler retired at the start of 2011 and has, of course, continued to dedicate himself to his life's work: he is currently refurbishing the blacksmiths in Niedersulz, where he is also exhibiting his extensive collection of religious artefacts.