Peasants' War 1626: Between history and fiction

The year 1626 is symptomatic of the rapid change that Europe was undergoing at the beginning of the 17th century.

The exhibition shows precisely these preliminary and contextual conditions that were to lead to the armed uprising in the Land ob der Enns. It offers an insight into the lives of the population, which were characterized by multiple crises, and follows the initial successes of the rebels in May 1626, the ultimately failed siege of Linz Castle and their devastating defeat in November of that year. The six months of armed insurrection were followed by 400 years of history and historiography. During this time, the events of the uprising were constantly reinterpreted against the backdrop of changing interests and made the subject of political instrumentalization. From the perspective of a 21st century society, the exhibition focuses on this process of remembering and commemorating over four centuries and asks how it continues to shape the narrative of the Upper Austrian Peasants' War to this day.