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"Great is the power of memory that dwells in places." (from Cicero)

Luis Trenker memorial

Luis Trenker is one of Gröden’s most renowned locals. Since 1992, he has been seated on the promenade that bears his name in the form of a bronze sculpture created by Hermann Josef Runggaldier.

In the 1930s Trenker enjoyed career as an actor and director which remains critically acclaimed to this day and, in the post-war years, went on to promote the development of tourism through radio and TV narrations of his memoirs. 

Kakelorum' marbles game

Carefully made games with marbles from Val di Fassa also belonged to the items exported from Gröden. The game 'Kakelorum' worked like roulette, with the marble being thrown into the turban or crown of the figurine hollowed out like a helter-skelter. The marble then rolls down the spiral to land in the numbered dents in the plate at its base.

Scissors sharpener and bucket carrier

Only a small selection of Gröden wooden toys were painted, and most of them were left unvarnished, known as 'white goods'. The simple mechanisms that the figures could be moved with made them fascinating objects. The body of the bucket carrier sways back and forth, while the scissors sharpener moves his feet to the turning of the wheels. Drumming monkeys, pecking hens, rocking horses, leaping clowns and lots more items were made.

Pattern board of jointed dolls

Jointed dolls were the main item made by Gröden toy carvers from the 1840s until the First World War. The dolls were available in all sizes and the whole family was involved in their manufacture: arms, legs, face and body were produced separately, put together with wooden pegs or ball joints and the face was painted on. These jointed dolls were mainly sold in France and England.

Self-portrait of a female wood carver

Katharina Kasslatter, known as Trina da Gustin, was one of the first  students at the specialist school in Wolkenstein, opened in 1908. This small sculpture out of Swiss pine depicts her sitting on her work stool wearing her traditional costume. Kasslatter started learning wood carving from her mother when she was eight years old. She signed her works in order to set herself apart from anonymous domestic producers.

Wall panelling Paris 1925

Students and teachers of both art schools in Gröden made a panelled room for the 1925 International Exhibition in Paris that was awarded the Grand Prix and three other medals for its sculptural features. The panelling is an example of the stylistic renewal going on in Gröden art during the wars, which was mainly thanks to the head of the art school at the time, Guido Balsamo Stella.

Diana

This carved, unvarnished sculpture shows Diana, the Roman goddess of hunting, with her right arm around a deer and a bouquet of flowers in her left arm. There is a bow and arrow in front of her. This small figurine is an expression of the stylistic renewal going on in the two Gröden art schools, which started to embrace art nouveau during the 1920s under the management of Guido Balsamo Stella. 

World exhibition of medals Paris 1925

In 1925, both art schools in Gröden took part in the International Exhibition in Paris. Albino Pitscheider, a master in carving small works of art and art teacher in Wolkenstein from 1910 to 1924 as well as from 1919 to 1940, was awarded a gold medal along with his colleague Lusi Insam. The octagonal medal shows an allegory of spring on one side, while it has a bouquet of flowers on the other side.