Customs, knowledge and old craft techniques | Life in Gailtal # 2023

A FILM ABOUT HORSES, ALPS AND TRADITIONAL CHURCH CUSTOMS

Home Austria meets people in the Lower Gail Valley who vividly describe the changes in people's everyday lives and also bear witness to the fact that traditional church traditions have hardly changed in the last 100 years. At the center of the film is the church festival in Feistritz an der Gail, which attracts numerous people to the spectacular equestrian custom of skid jumping every year at Pentecost.

High above Hermagor on the Eggeralm, the hiking guide Georg Jost tells how he took tourists into the mountains as a little boy, the hut landlord Rudi Jank remembers how in the morning you had to carry the water for the day to the inn on the alpine pasture, and for farmer Thomas Novak, summers on the mountain pastures as a child were a unique adventure.

Down in the valley, the church day was and is the big cultural event of the year. Milka Kriegl remembers how the church days used to be, although hardly any changes can be noticed if you follow the church day activities in Feistritz or in another Lower Gail valley community. In addition to the singing, about which the Gailtal song collector Franz Mörtl has a lot to say, the most important thing is the costume. This is not only presented in the film by the seamstress Diana Erat in her tailoring museum in Arnoldstein, but you can also see how much effort it takes to put on the Gailtal costume using the example of two young Gailtal women.

The highlight of every church day in the area is the skid jumping. It can also be admired extensively in the film, although historical photos of the Feistritz church day from the post-war period confirm that nothing has changed since then.

IMMATERIAL CULTURAL HERITAGE
Customs, knowledge and old craft techniques

In the 15 documentaries, the intangible cultural heritage is presented as an integral part of the Austrian cultural landscape. The films search for traces of the past in order to make the creation and changes of intangible cultural heritage visible. They document the current situation, whereby the character that creates identity for the present is highlighted. And they address the question of what importance the care of heritage has for the future of the Austrian cultural landscape.

“Heimat Österreich” takes you to the most beautiful cultural landscapes in Austria. Elaborately designed documentaries portray long-held traditions and customs, explore popular pilgrimage sites and show how culture and nature intertwine in the heart of Europe.