After the avalanche catastrophe in 1999, the Alpinarium Galtür – which functions as a concrete protection barrier against snow as well as a visitor information centre – posed the urgent question how the economic factor of tourism could be reconciled with lasting protection of the high alpine natural world. To this end, it deliberately investigates the contradictions of modern life in the Alps. On the one hand, the difficult conditions and dangers of living in high mountain areas are depicted in an exemplary way. On the other hand, this particular natural and cultural sphere is presented as a place where the tourist’s wishes and needs are satisfied; where modern technology ultimately guarantees provision and safety for guests attracted by the promise of sporting activity and the natural landscape.
This institution’s concept distances itself from traditional local “Heimat” museums with their expression of an idyll. Using contemporary media, symbolic staging and artistic installations, aesthetically it clearly locates the complex of themes in the present-day world.
The concept study was part of preparations for the State Exhibition Tyrol – Southern Tyrol – Trentino entitled “The Future of Nature”, for which the same team also presented a second evaluation document. The focal point of these projects was to reflect on an image of nature which has been instrumentalised in diverse ways and so exploited by the travel industry and mass tourism. The permanent exhibition of the Alpinarium and the temporary State Exhibition in Hall (Tyrol) were opened together in 2005.