A woman with a basket on her back, a man with a sack slung over his shoulder: carved figurines of vagabonds and beggars were a speciality for Val Gardena artists from the last third of the 18th century. They usually come in pairs and are depicted in a very realistic manner: haggard, often crippled, with ragged clothes, walking stick and hat. Missing or worn-out shoes are another feature of Val Gardena figurines.  

Flagellation, a crown of thorns, hammer, nails, pliers, lances, vinegar-soaked sponge and ladder, dice and Jesus' garments: nothing connected with Christ's crucifixion was left out of this baroque crucifixion group from Val Gardena. The reason is simple: the Instruments of the Passion were considered powerful weapons in the fight against evil. The house that this devotional item originates from is not known.  

This small carved and painted sculpture shows a couple beneath a tree with a goat nibbling at the woman's bouquet. The sculpture - probably from the 1840s - reflects fashions from the end of the Biedermeier period, while it also demonstrates Gröden wood carvers' adopting of motifs from all sales regions and the manufacture of ceramic items.

This delicately figure of an impishly grinning Krampus carved from pear wood carries a basket to keep cigarettes in. It was made by the sculptor Franz Insam de Cësanueva from Santa Cristina, who created a series of items popular throughout the whole Habsburg empire in the 1870s - not only items such as this one for tobacco consumers, but nutcrackers, too. 

Horse and rider are standing on a pedestal, yet not attached, with a lead weight helping them to keep their balance. The figurine swings when nudged, but still stays up there. The acrobat, turning a circle once nudged, works on the same principle. It is not possible to identify the carvers of these toys, as they are anonymous.

This cultural asset is part of the tour "St. Ulrich: a stroll through the village centre and its history".

For a long time, dancing battle horses were children's favourite toys at the time of the Habsburg empire, with the items to be painted sent to Oberammergau at first. It was not until 1800 that the people of Val Gardena came up with the procedure for the right composition of colour and varnish. And even then, only certain items like doll's heads and rocking horses were painted, mainly by women.

Most toys from Val Gardena were mass produced, yet there were also some carefully made unique items, like this post wagon with access door, double shafts, yellow varnishing and the writing 'K.K. Post'. As of 1856, post wagons accessed Val Gardena on the road through the valley, and in 1867 Val Gardena was joined up with the Brennero railway via Ponte Gardena, which made doing business in the valley a lot easier.

Pendulum toys were produced from the end of the 19th century to the start of the 20th century. This toy cow lowers its head to the trough when the pendulum swings, while the calf lifts its head up to drink milk. The wooden ball was produced on the lathe by making balls shaped like on a string of pearls and then separating them from each other. In 1877, there were 300 foot-powered and 60 water-powered lathes in Val Gardena. 

After jointed dolls, carved animals were the most important items in the Val Gardena range. Most of these were horses: rocking horses, draft horses for all sorts of carts and horses on wheels. These horses were painted and delivered in all sizes: from little toy figurines to ones that children could sit on.

This cultural asset is part of the tour "Ortisei: a stroll through the village centre and its history".

This porphyry trough hewn from a stone block with the year 1868 engraved on it used to stand near Hotel Adler and was a place for horses to drink. At four metres in length, it is the largest of some 50 porphyry troughs that used to be in Val Gardena; it has been standing in the museum garden since 1960. It is attributed to the stonemason Scola Petru from Falcade, who founded a stonemason's business in Pontives.