Family - ideal and reality

Almost everyone is confronted with the topic of “family” in the course of their lives. “You are born into a family, you start a family, you meet families at every turn. Historians, sociologists, psychologists, etc. deal with the family. Sometimes it is preached as healthy, other times it is declared dead. There are numerous myths, legends and prejudices surrounding the family as a way of life,” said exhibition director Elisabeth Vavra about the theme of this provincial exhibition at Riegersburg Castle.

The exhibition showed the tasks and functions of the family over the centuries. She tried to dispel clichés: the family is anything but static, it has developed with social changes, which is why no traditional form of family can be absolutized and elevated to the norm, according to Vavra.

According to the curator, the family had and still has four functions, referring to the German sociologist Robert Hettlage: “Firstly, it is responsible for procreation. Secondly, it is responsible for the upbringing and socialization of the child or children. Thirdly, it is an important economic factor. [...] And fourthly, it serves not only the physical care of its members, but above all psychological regeneration, i.e. recreation, relaxation and emotional satisfaction.”

This exhibition was also designed with families in mind. An attempt was made to take children and their needs into consideration as far as possible: Objects were not hung too high, and the display cases were low enough for little ones to look inside. There were separate playrooms and in the garden area of the castle, children had the opportunity to try out old children's games with their parents - from sack races to “Anmäuerln”.

For the first time in the history of the state exhibitions, a show was taken over from another location - Neuburg an der Donau (near Ingolstadt). The exhibition was enriched with some Bavarian exhibits, adapted to the changed spatial conditions and shown in Bavaria in 1994 under the title “Family - History - Stories”.

Erwin Pröll opened a provincial exhibition for the first time in his capacity as governor. With this type of exhibition, Lower Austria has set an example for the whole of Austria: “The provincial exhibition has proved its worth as an educational institution for broad sections of the population; over all these years, it has succeeded in illustrating the history of the province section by section and presenting it in a generally understandable way.”

The second key aspect is the importance of the exhibition venue. “It has been possible to restore many historic buildings in connection with these exhibitions or to provide the impetus for restoration and revitalization. Finally, as a third positive factor, these provincial exhibitions have revitalized tourism in the region with all the positive economic consequences,” said Governor Pröll.

Riegersburg Baroque Castle