On Wheels and Runners – Transport Vehicles of Bygone Times

Selected wagons, sleighs and carts from the extensive collection of the Weinviertel Museum Village Niedersulz have been meticulously restored in recent years with the support of the Friends Association and brought together in an extraordinary exhibition. Highlights include a wine wagon from Hohenruppersdorf, a livestock wagon from Ameis, a box wagon from Mistelbach, and several other historic transport vehicles. A particularly remarkable exhibit is the magnificent hearse from Gaunersdorf/Gaweinstal dating from 1915, which attracts attention with its embroidered coachman's blanket and other textile decorations.

Wagons, Carts and Sleighs for the Transport of Agricultural Produce

In a Weinviertel village around 1900, farming families, smallholders and craftspeople used wagons, carts and sleighs to transport agricultural products.

Wagons were primarily used to transport agricultural goods for household use, but also for sale. Ladder wagons were mainly employed for carrying hay and grain. Root crops, sacks (for example grain sacks destined for the mill), gravel or earth were transported in box wagons, also known as board wagons or cart wagons.

In the Weinviertel region, transporting grapes and grape mash to the press house was particularly important. The finished wine was usually delivered to Vienna by a farmhand using the characteristic wine wagon. This long, narrow vehicle provided space for two large barrels, as well as the “Flechte”, a deeply lowered woven cover that protected against wind and rain, oats for the pair of horses, and additional equipment. Wine wagons were usually painted in a vivid blue and richly decorated. The horse harnesses were also ornamented and often displayed the name or initials of the winegrower.

Sleighs were naturally used during winter, especially for transporting timber, but also other goods.

Carts were two-wheeled vehicles pulled either by people or small draft animals, or pushed manually as wheelbarrows. They were used to carry grass, bundles of vines, smaller sacks and generally smaller quantities of agricultural or craft products.

The Transport of People

Only rarely were wagons and sleighs used exclusively for transporting people. One example is the Steirerwagerl, which was used for journeys to church or to larger towns for medical appointments or visits to relatives.

The Final Journey

The “final journey” to the cemetery also took place in an elaborately designed hearse. The hearse from Gaweinstal (formerly Gaunersdorf), dating from 1915, has been extensively restored and now shines in renewed splendour, as do its embroidered coachman's blanket and other textile decorations.

Extensive Restoration Work

The restoration of the vehicles included treatment against pests, replacement of missing or decayed wooden parts, rust removal and conservation of the metal components, as well as the refurbishment of painted surfaces. The work was carried out by the museum village team and external specialist companies with the support of the Friends of the Weinviertel Museum Village Niedersulz association.

The special exhibition presents selected wall hangings, known as “Spruchdeckerl,” along with other household textiles from the collection of the Weinviertel Museum Village Niedersulz. These items are embroidered with stereotypical images and sayings that primarily relate to the role of women around 1900. The exhibition addresses the idealized image of the housewife, wife, and mother at that time, along with the obligations associated with these roles. Frugal and orderly household management, as well as the physical and emotional well-being of the family—particularly the husband—were widely promoted as the woman’s duties.

The image of the housewife as someone working exclusively in the home and for the family emerged during the Biedermeier period within the bourgeoisie and did not apply to rural or artisanal settings. Women in agriculture and craft trades had numerous areas of responsibility in which they contributed significantly to the family income. Accordingly, the care of small children was not solely the mother’s task but was equally taken on by maids, older siblings, and other family members.

Some of the sayings counteract these clichés by addressing—at times quite ironically—the themes of poverty and the resulting need for frugality, or the fleeting nature of love. The exhibition also explores the production, distribution, and use of these embroidered textiles.

On display are 30 wall hangings, wardrobe strips, small tablecloths, towels, and a pillowcase featuring a humorous saying. Using these selected textiles from the museum village’s extensive collection, the exhibition highlights six interwoven thematic areas that structure the tour: It begins with “True Love,” which occasionally leads—somewhat ironically—to “Good Food,” only to shift abruptly to the cautionary theme “Practice Thrift at All Times.” “A Mother’s Love Endures Forever,” complemented by “Cleanliness Adorns at All Times,” completes the image of the woman and mother responsible for the “Cozy Home.”

Visitors can experience living conditions around 1900 with all their senses in the House to Try Out: Try lying on a straw sack and a horsehair mattress, grate nuts, get to know the lighting conditions of a paraffin lamp, put a loaf of (salted) dough in the oven - all this and much more can be tried out.

The horse collars were used to distribute the tractive force when clamping a horse or other draft animal.
On display are splendid horse collars for the wagons that delivered the wine from the Weinviertel to Vienna, but also simpler pieces for agricultural vehicles and plows.
In the adjoining room you can admire some sledges from aristocratic property as a supplement.

Discover a selection of different educational materials, "school" textiles and textbooks. One section is dedicated to the textbook author and school historian Ludwig Boyer, who comes from the Weinviertel region. Furthermore, the wide range of tasks, the everyday school life and the social position of the village teacher in the 19th century are discussed.

Based on Martin Luther's 1517 theses, the documentation shows the history and presence of the Protestants in the Weinviertel. You can marvel at pictures, devotional books and Bibles as well as song books from four centuries.

The development of Lower Austrian agriculture between lordship, town and market from 1848 to the present is dealt with in a total of seven subject areas. A historical highlight is the original study by Leopold Figl. Numerous interview and film excerpts establish links between yesterday and today.

The permanent exhibition focuses on the history of the Baptists and Hutterites from their beginnings to the free churches of the present day. Members of this reformatory religious movement settled around 1528 in the Liechtenstein possessions in South Moravia and the neighboring Weinviertel.

This exhibition shows various clay building techniques as well as their cultural-historical and climate-technical significance. The focus of the presentation is a piece of clay wall, which was transferred in a whole piece with clay, plaster and lime paint.
Clay used to be regarded as a building material by poor people, but today it is increasingly appreciated and promoted for its environmental friendliness and climate efficiency.