Peasants' War 1626: Between History and Fiction

The exhibition showcases the very preconditions and contexts that led to the armed uprising in the region of Enns. It provides insight into the life worlds of the population shaped by multiple crises and follows the initial successes of the insurgents in May 1626 through the ultimately failed siege of Linz Castle to their devastating defeats in November of that year. The six months of armed uprising 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 became subjects of political instrumentalization. From the perspective of a 21st-century society, the exhibition addresses this process of remembrance and commemoration over four centuries and questions how it continues to shape the narrative of the Upper Austrian Peasant War to this day.