THE EGGERHAUS
For this purpose, the "Association for the Rescue and Preservation of Historical Building Culture in the Municipality of Altmünster" was founded in December 1995. In 2002, it was renamed the "Eggerhaus Cultural Association." From December 1995 to April 1996, the house was meticulously measured, documented, and carefully dismantled. All demountable parts (window frames, grilles, floors, ceilings, timber framing, roof truss, etc.) were numbered and stored professionally.
After a lengthy search, a suitable plot of land was finally found near the Altmünster children's village with the help of the local community, and in August 1998, reconstruction of the building could finally begin. Apart from the fact that bricks replaced the massive stone walls, some of which were up to 70 centimeters thick, everything else remained the same.
EGGERHAUS - DEMOLITION AND REBUILDING (1995 TO 2003)
In 1995, the so-called "Hausstock" (main building) was slated for demolition to make way for a modern commercial building. To save the historically valuable building and preserve it for the community of Altmünster, it was decided to dismantle it and rebuild it at a different location.
After completion of the brick ground floor, the original log structures and roof trusses, up to 17 meters long (where necessary), were repaired and assembled like a giant jigsaw puzzle using long wooden pegs. The topping-out ceremony in October 1999 marked a first important step in the reconstruction of the "Egger House," as it was now called.
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The roof was covered with larch shingles and the original old floorboards and ceilings were installed in 2000. As is so often the case with new buildings, the installation, restoration, and furnishing work proved to be the most complex part, both in terms of time and money. The awarding of the "Prize for the Promotion of Folk Culture" in December 2001 was a particular source of motivation for the "Eggerhaus Team." From the start of the surveying and documentation work in December 1995 until the opening of the Eggerhaus on August 16, 2003, a few dedicated idealists contributed almost 20,000 hours of volunteer work, often requiring highly skilled labor, and—with the generous support of companies, the municipality of Altmünster, and the state of Upper Austria—saved this building, which had seemed lost.
