Museum of Kitzbuehel – Alfons Walde Collection

The museum offers a record of life in the Kitzbuehel area from Bronze Age mining to the present. The museum is dedicated to preserving the material culture and telling the special stories of the people of Kitzbuehel; their achievements, diversity craftsmanship and genius. In recognition of Kitzbuehel’s proud competitive winter sports tradition, the museum showcases and celebrates local athletes like Toni Sailer and the legendary “Kitzbuehel Ski Wonder Team” of the 1950ies, their accomplishments, and their impact on our community and country. The centerpiece of the museum is the largest permanent exhibition of the artistic work of Alfons Walde, including 60 paintings and over 100 graphics, drawings, photographs and prints. Alfons Walde (1891-1958) achieved international recognition mainly with the posters of winter landscapes and winter sports motifs created 1920-1938. He was the first artist to successfully bring skiing as a subject into painting. These sporting scenes together with his winter landscapes and farming images, rendered in a unique tempera style with impasto colouring, complemented his other artistic gifts as both an architect and graphic artist.