Culture ·
Salzburg's state ski museum: search for a new home stalls
The FIS state ski museum in Werfenweng has to leave its building by 2030 at the latest. Werfenweng and Bischofshofen both bid to host it, but according to the Salzburger Nachrichten the search has since ground to a halt.
The Salzburg FIS State Ski Museum has been in Werfenweng for more than 30 years. It was founded by Hans Müller and has more than 1,500 exhibits. Its future, however, is uncertain.
Out by 2030 at the latest
According to the Salzburger Nachrichten (May 2026), the museum can stay where it is until 2030 at the latest. After that the landlord, a hotel business, wants to use the building itself. The museum association and the province of Salzburg have been looking for a solution since 2022, and at times three municipalities were interested. The SN reports that the matter has since stalled and even asks whether the museum could close for good.
Looking back: Werfenweng versus Bischofshofen
In May 2025, ORF Salzburg reported on two concrete bids to the provincial government:
- Werfenweng was determined to keep the museum. Mayor Kurt Daxer (ÖVP) pointed out that the museum was founded in the village and supported by the municipality for years. A Styrian investor group that runs several hotels in the village had pledged €1 million, but only if the museum stayed in Werfenweng. The money was meant to extend the old Mesnerhaus, which houses the local Dialogzentrum, back into the hillside. State funding would still have been needed. The root problem was that the museum had originally been built on leased land under a building lease rather than on land it owned.
- Bischofshofen proposed an extension to the visitor centre at the Paul Außerleitner ski jump. Manfred Schützenhofer of Sportclub Bischofshofen said the jump draws 60,000 to 70,000 visitors a year, an audience that already loves skiing. He stressed that it was not a "hostile takeover": the first contact had come from Werfenweng.
Founder Hans Müller stayed neutral on the location at the time. What mattered to him was that the museum would be secure for the next 30 years. The province originally planned to decide by the end of June 2025. A year later, the SN reports, there is still no solution in sight.