The Tiroler Volkskunstmuseum is one of the best collections of folk art I have ever seen, in any country. Yet it was practically empty on the day we visited. Go figure!

The Tyrol is an entirely Alpine region that includes parts of both Italy and Austria. These are BIG mountains, and so before the modern era, a lot of distinctive micro-cultures developed in the isolated valleys. They also had a lot of time over the winters to carve and paint fancy stuff to decorate their dark, snowbound houses.

The museum showcases a tremendous number of elaborately decorated household items, tools, costumes, and religious objects. Most are made of Alpine hardwood, wool, leather, and the tin and silver that are mined locally.

I thought it was pretty wonderful, and I took so many photos that I have split them into two posts. Here are the tools and household objects. They were accompanied by full-size reproductions of Tyrolean houses that were a little hard to photograph, but were also very interesting. What a nice way to spend one of our last days in Austria!