Railway Studies – Exhibition in the former water tower, railway station Spitz an der Donau

The Wachau Railway as a research topic calls for an exhibition venue with a link to the railway. We therefore presented the results of our Railway Studies in the former water tower at the railway station in Spitz an der Donau. The vacant building – until recently used by the railway maintenance – was transformed into an exhibition venue over two weekends. The opening took place on 11 October.

The exhibition showcased artistic and landscape architectural explorations of the Wachau railway. Artistic films by Hubert Lobnig and Iris Andraschek were screened. One contribution to the exhibition examined how the railway line cut through the villages and the resulting spatial situations. The exhibition also highlighted the engineering and protective structures that were necessary for a flood-proof route along the rock faces, as well as the plants that have colonised along the tracks and protective structures. As galvanised metal creatures, these plants entered into a dialogue about the history, present and future of the railway.

We would like to thank Niederösterreich Bahnen for the opportunity to present our project at Spitz railway station. We appreciate the continued support of the Lower Austrian State Department of Art and Culture / Art in the Public Space (KOERNOE), which has once again provided us with the ‘Inventour-Bus’. We would like to thank Lucas Nunzer, honorary municipal archivist in Spitz, for sharing his insight into the railway history of Spitz. We are grateful to the municipality of Spitz an der Donau and Deputy Mayor Maria Denk for their hospitality.