Nobility in transition - politics, culture, denomination 1500 - 1700

The theme of this provincial exhibition had multiple objectives. On the one hand, the example of the Lower Austrian nobility was used to focus on socio-historical issues such as ways of life, material culture and behavior, which in many cases had not previously been the focus of interest in comparison to art history and the history of dynasties. On the other hand, the aim was to depict the basic economic and political conditions in the period between 1500 and 1700.

From around 1570, the conflict between the aristocratic estates and the principality over the latter's claim to sovereignty intensified in the Habsburg lands. The polarization of loyalty to the princely house and the insistence on the ancestral freedoms of the estates corresponded to the contrast between the confessions, the Catholic one of the prince and his entourage and the Protestant one of the majority of the nobility.

“The decision in the struggle, which lasted several decades, ultimately fell in favor of the ruler,” stated exhibition curator Herbert Knittler. “But the defeat of the nobility was not a total one. Their participation in rule remained, albeit in a different form. Participation was combined with adaptation: coming to terms with the new system, however, offered new opportunities - not only for the traditionally powerful in the country, but also for numerous up-and-comers” (Knittler).

The range of topics covered in the exhibition was broad. How did Lower Austrian nobles earn their money, for example? “Beer brewing, sheep farming and ponds did not make the nobles as rich as in Bohemia, but they did create a more flexible income structure for the lords, who until then had mainly lived off their subjects' rents,” says curator Knittler.

The exhibition was spread over 26 rooms in Rosenburg Castle. The 850 exhibits from 200 lenders related to the life of the nobility, from the design of the living area to clothing and food, as well as the life of the nobility from birth to childhood, education and marriage to death.

Rosenburg Castle was completely renovated for the exhibition (cost: twelve million schillings or around 870,000 euros) and was therefore not only the venue for the provincial exhibition, but also an exhibit itself. The complex was extended several times in the 16th and 17th centuries and developed into an impressive Renaissance building. Rosenburg Castle is one of the most important castle complexes in Austria and has the largest fully preserved tournament court in Europe. 

More than 360,000 people saw this provincial exhibition, which was a “great public success”, as the Austria Press Agency reported at the end of October 1990. According to the agency, the majority of domestic visitors came from Lower Austria and Vienna, while most foreign visitors came from Germany, France, England, Italy, Japan, the USA and the Czech Republic.

Rosenburg Castle