An original Mongolian yurt has been standing in the middle of the "Toter Mann" district since 2023. Not a replica, not a set piece: a real, round tent made of felt and wooden latticework, just like the semi-nomads in Mongolia still live in today. And that is precisely the highlight.
Because what at first glance seems like a long detour via Central Asia is actually a direct leap into the Palaeolithic Age. Alberndorf is one of the most important archaeological sites in Lower Austria - people lived and hunted here tens of thousands of years ago. What did their dwellings look like? Probably not unlike this yurt: light, mobile, perfectly adapted to life in the countryside.
In keeping with Mongolian tradition, the yurt is not locked. Curious visitors can enter at any time, explore the structure up close and pause for a moment - just as is customary in Mongolia itself, where an open yurt means hospitality.
It was built as the crowning glory of the research project "The Dissident Goddesses' Network" (2020-2023), a collaboration between the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna and the Provincial Archaeology Department of Lower Austria. The project had an unusual goal: to literally take research out of the lecture halls and anchor it where the finds are - on site, in the landscape, in the open air.
Since then, the yurt has been more than just an exhibit. Seminars, workshops and meetings with guests from all over the world take place here. The archaeological treasures of the region are discussed as well as the ecological diversity of the nearby Buchberg - a place where researchers, locals and travelers come together.