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Craft Techniques of Austria

The Depository documents 30 techniques in Austria; by risk level: 2 critically endangered, 10 endangered, 2 vulnerable, 16 stable. Each record opens with a public summary; the full research record is free to view once registered.

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Food, Drink & Botanical

  • Grüner Veltliner Wine Making — Wachau TraditionFood, Drink & Botanical · Stable

    The Grüner Veltliner wine making tradition of the Wachau — the production of the characteristic Austrian white wine from Austria's most planted grape variety, whose specific peppery, mineral, and citrus character (from the terraced Wachau…

  • Marillenschnaps — Wachau Apricot DistillingFood, Drink & Botanical · Stable

    The Wachau Marillenschnaps tradition — the distillation of the specific Wachau apricot (Wachauer Marille), grown on the terraced vineyards of the Wachau UNESCO World Heritage valley, into the characteristic fruit schnapps whose intensely…

  • Sachertorte — Viennese Pastry TraditionFood, Drink & Botanical · Stable

    The Sachertorte making tradition — the dense chocolate sponge cake with a layer of apricot jam and smooth dark chocolate glaze invented by Franz Sacher for Prince Metternich in Vienna in 1832, whose specific combination of dense yet moist…

  • Styrian Pumpkin Seed Oil PressingFood, Drink & Botanical · Stable

    The Styrian pumpkin seed oil pressing tradition — the production of the dark, nutty, aromatic oil from the specific hull-less Styrian oil pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo var.

  • Tiroler Graukäse — Alpine Acid-Curd CheeseFood, Drink & Botanical · Stable

    The Tiroler Graukäse tradition — the making of the distinctive acid-curd gray rind cheese of the Tyrolean Inn valley and Zillertal, which unlike all other cheeses in the CRAFT European archive is made without rennet — using only the…

  • Vorarlberger Bergkäse — Alpine Cheese MakingFood, Drink & Botanical · Stable

    The Vorarlberger Bergkäse tradition — the making of the distinctive hard alpine cheese of Vorarlberg on the high summer pastures (Alpen), whose characteristic firm, aromatic body develops through a minimum 4-month cave aging and whose…

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Ceramics & Pottery

  • Augarten Porcelain — Vienna Imperial TraditionCeramics & Pottery · Vulnerable

    The Augarten porcelain tradition — the second oldest European hard-paste porcelain manufactory (established 1718, predated only by Meissen 1710), whose characteristic warm white body, restrained Imperial Baroque decoration vocabulary, and…

  • Augarten Porcelain Figurine PaintingCeramics & Pottery · Vulnerable

    The Augarten porcelain figurine painting tradition — the specific overglaze enamel painting of the three-dimensional porcelain figurines that are the defining Augarten product, whose characteristic warm polychrome palette (costume details,…

  • Gmundner Keramik — Upper Austrian Green-Flamed CeramicsCeramics & Pottery · Stable

    The Gmundner Keramik tradition — the making of the distinctive green-flamed earthenware of the Salzkammergut town of Gmunden, whose characteristic irregular green flame decoration on a cream ground has been the defining Austrian folk…

  • Lower Austrian Hafner PotteryCeramics & Pottery · Endangered

    The Lower Austrian Hafner tradition — the making of the distinctive lead-glazed and tin-glazed earthenware of Lower Austria (Niederösterreich), historically the functional pottery that served the rural communities between the Danube and…

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Woodwork & Carving

  • Biedermeier Furniture — Viennese Cabinet TraditionWoodwork & Carving · Endangered

    The Biedermeier furniture tradition of Vienna — the making of the distinctive simplified, functional, fruitwood furniture that defined the Viennese bourgeois interior from approximately 1815–1848, whose characteristic use of light…

  • Bregenzerwald Bauernmöbel — Vorarlberg Alpine FurnitureWoodwork & Carving · Endangered

    The Bregenzerwald Bauernmöbel tradition — the making of the specific Alpine furniture of the Bregenzerwald (Bregenz Forest) whose characteristic use of local maple and cherry woods in simple, robust forms represents the Vorarlberg…

  • Salzburg Woodcarving — Religious Folk TraditionWoodwork & Carving · Stable

    The Salzburg woodcarving tradition — the making of the distinctive Alpine religious woodcarvings (Krippen nativity scenes, Herrgott figures, devotional reliefs) of the Salzburg region, whose specific combination of limewood carving and…

  • Tyrolean Painted Furniture — Bauernmöbel TraditionWoodwork & Carving · Stable

    The Tyrolean painted furniture tradition — the making and painting of the distinctive Alpine folk furniture (Bauernmöbel) of the Tyrol, whose characteristic dark green, red, and blue painted panels with floral and religious motifs on a…

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Metalwork & Jewelry

  • Austrian Scythe Making — Sensenmacher TraditionMetalwork & Jewelry · Critically Endangered

    The Austrian scythe making tradition of the Steyr and Kirchdorf regions of Upper Austria — one of the most historically significant precision blade-making traditions in the world, whose specific scythe blades were the dominant…

  • Styrian Iron Working — Erzberg HeritageMetalwork & Jewelry · Stable

    The Styrian iron working tradition of the Erzberg — the making of forged iron objects from the ore of the Steirische Erzberg (Styrian Iron Mountain), the world's largest open-cast iron ore mine, which has supplied Styrian ironmasters for…

  • Vienna Silversmithing — Imperial Guild TraditionMetalwork & Jewelry · Endangered

    The Vienna silversmithing tradition — the production of the distinctive Habsburg Imperial silver whose quality was governed by the Wiener Punze (Vienna hallmark) from 1806, and whose characteristic restrained neo-classical and Biedermeier…

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Papercraft & Printing

  • Austrian Corrugated Cardboard and Paper-Straw Jewelry MakingPapercraft & Printing · Stable

    The design and hand-fabrication of contemporary jewelry from corrugated cardboard and paper straws by Austrian artist Monica Peksa, part of the same wider international coiled/compressed cardboard jewelry movement documented in Italy,…

  • Viennese Bookbinding — Imperial Court TraditionPapercraft & Printing · Endangered

    The Viennese bookbinding tradition — the production of the distinctive full leather bindings with gold-tooled decoration that were the defining luxury book objects of the Habsburg Imperial court library, and the broader tradition of fine…

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Weaving & Textiles

  • Carinthian Folk Weaving — Kärnten Textile TraditionWeaving & Textiles · Endangered

    The Carinthian folk weaving tradition of Kärnten — the southern Austrian province whose textile heritage bridges the Austrian Alpine tradition to the north and the Slovenian weaving traditions to the south, producing a distinctive folk…

  • Innviertler Linen WeavingWeaving & Textiles · Critically Endangered

    The Innviertel linen weaving tradition of the Upper Austrian Inn valley quarter — the production of the fine homespun linen cloth (Hausleinwand) from locally grown flax that sustained the domestic textile economy of the Innviertel farming…

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Glasswork

  • Lobmeyr Crystal — Vienna Cut Glass TraditionGlasswork · Stable

    The Lobmeyr crystal tradition — the Vienna glass house established 1823 whose cut and engraved glass for the Habsburg Imperial household defined the Viennese crystal aesthetic, and whose 20th-century collaboration with Josef Hoffmann and…

  • Swarovski Crystal — Tyrolean Precision Cut CrystalGlasswork · Stable

    The Swarovski crystal cutting tradition of Wattens, Tyrol — the precision cutting of the specific Swarovski lead crystal glass using proprietary machine and hand cutting processes to produce the characteristic maximum-brilliance faceted…

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Mask, Puppet & Costume

  • Salzburg Marionette Making — Salzburger MarionettentheaterMask, Puppet & Costume · Stable

    The Salzburg marionette making tradition of the Salzburger Marionettentheater — the construction and stringing of the specific performance marionettes used by the Salzburg Marionette Theatre (established 1913), whose characteristic…

  • Tyrolean Dirndl Embroidery — Folk Costume TraditionMask, Puppet & Costume · Stable

    The Tyrolean Dirndl embroidery tradition — the making of the decorative embroidery on the Dirndl (the traditional Austrian and Bavarian folk costume blouse and apron) whose specific chain stitch, satin stitch, and eyelet combination…

All mask, puppet & costume techniques worldwide →

Stone & Gemstone Carving

  • Hallstatt Salt Mining HeritageStone & Gemstone Carving · Stable

    The Hallstatt salt mining tradition — the oldest continuously operated salt mine in the world (documented from the Bronze Age, approximately 3,500 years of continuous operation) whose specific prehistoric shaft-and-gallery mining technique…

All stone & gemstone carving techniques worldwide →

Musical Instruments

  • Viennese Clock Making — Josephinische UhrmacherMusical Instruments · Endangered

    The Viennese clock making tradition — the production of the distinctive Austrian precision clocks (Regulatoren and Stutzuhren) developed during the Josephine period (Joseph II, 1780–1790) and reaching their height during the Biedermeier…

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Painting & Decorative Arts

  • Viennese Gilded Frame MakingPainting & Decorative Arts · Endangered

    The Viennese gilded frame making tradition — the production of the ornate gilded wooden frames for the Habsburg Imperial paintings and mirror collections, using the traditional water gilding technique that produces the highest-quality…

All painting & decorative arts techniques worldwide →

Leatherwork

  • Viennese Leather Bookbinding — Ledereinband TraditionLeatherwork · Endangered

    The Viennese leather bookbinding tradition for archival documents — the production of the traditional limp vellum and parchment bindings used for the Habsburg Imperial archive records, whose characteristic flexibility and durability has…

All leatherwork techniques worldwide →

Embroidery & Lace

  • Vorarlberg Embroidery — Bregenzerwald TraditionEmbroidery & Lace · Endangered

    The Vorarlberg embroidery tradition of the Bregenzerwald — the white-on-white and colored embroidery tradition of Austria's westernmost province that developed in close connection with the adjacent St.

All embroidery & lace techniques worldwide →