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Next Stop: Hallstatt Railway Station – Encounters with Remarkable Women

Exhibition Opening: July 4, 2026 – Readings, Guided Tours, Discussions & More

With the exhibition Next Stop: Hallstatt Railway Station – Encounters with Remarkable Women, Aufbruch, Salzkammergut!—the successor organization to the European Capital of Culture Bad Ischl Salzkammergut 2024—together with British-Austrian social scientist Elizabeth Baum-Breuer, brings an extraordinary place in the Salzkammergut region and its stories into focus.

The point of departure is Hallstatt Railway Station—a place of arrival, waiting, and departure, where women from diverse backgrounds encounter one another. The exhibition presents biographies of women connected to the Salzkammergut. Through texts, narratives, and artistic approaches, it creates a multifaceted picture of mobility, identity, memory, and social change. The station becomes a symbol of movement, exchange, and the question of how regions reflect on their past while shaping their future.

The exhibition opens on Saturday, July 4, 2026, at 3:00 pm. Readings, guided tours, and discussions accompanying the exhibition invite visitors to experience Hallstatt Railway Station as a cultural meeting place in a new way.

A World Heritage Railway Station and Its Women

The World Heritage railway station is a unique location—accessible from the railway platform, a forest path, and the lake. Nestled against the mountainside on the Salzkammergut Railway between Attnang-Puchheim and Stainach-Irdning, it sits on the shore opposite the village of Hallstatt, overlooking the dark waters of Lake Hallstatt.

During July 2026, women with cultural and historical connections to the Salzkammergut will be “present” at this station. They come from near and far, from the past and the present, from different walks of life, and have lived in or regularly visited various parts of the Salzkammergut. Some spent their entire lives in the region; others left and later returned. Some moved here, some were forced to flee, while others came only during the summer holidays. What they share is the important role the Salzkammergut has played—or continues to play—in their lives. Some are no longer alive, yet their traces remain.

The biographies of thirty women—local residents, summer visitors, and guests—highlight their respective contributions to the culture and history of the region. Among them are farmers, homemakers, nurses, teachers, painters, musicians, directors, writers, entrepreneurs, and scholars.

Fifteen life-sized figures offer insight into the many reasons for using this station. These range from everyday purposes such as attending school or visiting a market, to social occasions such as family celebrations, processions, or demonstrations; cultural activities such as concerts or artistic inspiration; professional commitments; and even existential reasons such as seeking refuge or safety.

The biographies have been compiled from two previous exhibitions presented as part of the European Capital of Culture Bad Ischl Salzkammergut 2024: My Wardrobe – Women’s Joy of Life into Old Age by Elizabeth Baum-Breuer and Three Artists – Three Friends by Marie-Theres Arnbom. They are complemented by an additional text about a remarkable woman connected to both Berlin and Hallstatt, written by Nina Höllinger of the Contemporary History Museum Ebensee.

The exhibition is organized by Aufbruch, Salzkammergut!, the successor organization of the European Capital of Culture Bad Ischl Salzkammergut 2024, together with British-Austrian social scientist Elizabeth Baum-Breuer.

The women at Hallstatt Railway Station reveal the diversity and rich female legacy of the Hallstatt-Dachstein World Heritage Region in the Salzkammergut. Looking ahead, they also contribute to the vision of a future Salzkammergut Women’s Museum planned for Bad Ischl, which would become only the second women’s museum in Austria.

Opening Event

Saturday, July 4, 2026, 3:00 pm

With:

• Alexander Scheutz, Mayor of Hallstatt
• Egon Höll, Mayor of Obertraun
• Elizabeth Baum-Breuer, Curator
• Christina Jaritsch, Project Manager, Aufbruch, Salzkammergut!

Music:

• Vichtauer Trio

Exhibition Duration
July 4–12, 2026 and July 24–26, 2026
Friday–Sunday, 1:00–5:00 pm

Closing Event (Finissage)
July 26, 2026, 5:00 pm

Reading Series

Accompanying the exhibition is a series of readings:

• Saturday, July 4, 2026, 3:00 pm – Elizabeth Baum-Breuer
• Sunday, July 5, 2026, 3:00 pm – Nina Höllinger
• Sunday, July 12, 2026, 3:00 pm – Marie-Theres Arnbom
• Sunday, July 26, 2026, 5:00 pm – Christian Hoffmann

The readings focus on selected biographies of women from the Salzkammergut, situated between history, everyday life, and memory, opening new perspectives on the region.

Quotes

“Railway stations are places of departure and arrival; they create space for encounters. We see vacant buildings in the region as a resource, and after the former landing site in Ebensee, we are now activating Hallstatt Railway Station as a cultural venue. The exhibition format developed by and with Elizabeth Baum-Breuer serves as both a pilot project and a pop-up version of the future Salzkammergut Women’s Museum, which we envision as a long-term institution in the region. We are currently searching for a permanent location for this ambitious project.”

Christina Jaritsch, Project Manager, Aufbruch, Salzkammergut!

“It is wonderful that biographies of women with cultural and historical connections to the Salzkammergut can be made visible in this unique setting. The women at Hallstatt Railway Station represent diversity and a rich female heritage within the Hallstatt-Dachstein World Heritage Region. Looking ahead, they will also contribute to the future Salzkammergut Women’s Museum.”

Elizabeth Baum-Breuer, Curator

Biography of Elizabeth Baum-Breuer

Born in London in 1955, Elizabeth Baum-Breuer grew up in an Austrian émigré family in Oxfordshire and spent her summer months in the Salzkammergut.

She trained as a social worker in London and Vienna, studied Educational Sciences at the University of Vienna, and earned her doctorate with a dissertation on Transnational Adoptions and Life Courses. She has worked extensively in social work, research, and teaching both in Austria and internationally.

Her current research focuses on older women and biographical work through wardrobes and lived environments, as well as a “Linking Ages Study” spanning ages 10 to 100+, exploring the significance of jewellery in individual and social contexts.

Getting There

By Train

Hallstatt Railway Station is located directly on the Salzkammergut Railway line (Attnang-Puchheim – Stainach-Irdning) and can be reached from Linz, Salzburg, Vienna, and Graz.

Example connection:
Departure Attnang-Puchheim 1:09 pm – Arrival Hallstatt 2:24 pm.

Return connections from Hallstatt include 5:32 pm and 6:07 pm.

By Ferry

The ferry Stefanie operates year-round between Hallstatt Market Square and the railway station, coordinated with train arrivals and departures.

By Car

Parking is available in Hallstatt (P1–P4). From there, visitors can continue to the station either by ferry or on foot.

Press Materials

Photos and press material:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/zi8yhm0awou31oynvbpua/AEW6zd47b3r0d_rnAuTJI7c?rlkey=agqzz1deg0bg81on2rt9byp6i&st=ll50t65g&dl=0

Press Contact

Lisa Holzinger
l.holzinger@aufbruch-salzkammergut.at
+43 664 885 68089