The Juppenwerkstatt Riefensberg is a craft workshop and museum in

Riefensberg Riefensberg is a municipality in the district of Bregenz in the westernmost Austrian state of Vorarlberg. The community of Riefensberg covers an area of 14.85 square kilometers. Riefensberg is located within the Nagelfluhkette Nature Park. ...

Vorarlberg Vorarlberg ( , ; gsw, label=Vorarlbergisch, Vorarlbearg, , or ) is the westernmost States of Austria, state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is ...

(

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

). It is a

non-profit association A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

that pursues the goal of maintaining and caring for the Vorarlberg costumes, especially the Bregenz Forest women's costumes. It is the only manufacture in the

Bregenz Forest The Bregenz Forest (german: Bregenzerwald, ) is one of the main regions in the state of Vorarlberg (Austria). It overlaps, but is not coterminous with, the Bregenz Forest Mountains, which belong to a range of the Northern Limestone Alps, specifica ...

that still produces the Bregenzerwälder

tracht ''Tracht'' () refers to traditional garments in German-speaking countries and regions. Although the word is most often associated with Bavarian, Austrian, South Tyrolian and Trentino garments, including lederhosen and dirndls, many other German-s ...

in the traditional way. The Juppenwerkstatt is also the point of contact when it comes to assessing, appraising or mediating already used traditional costumes or accessories.

The juppe

The ''juppe'' is a woman's costume and headgear from the Bregenz Forest. The origin of the word juppe is the French word for skirt, "jupe". Juppenwerkstatt literally means "workshop of the juppe". The juppe is one of the oldest costumes in Europe. In its basic cut, this type of costume can be traced back to the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...

. At that time still white (saves the dye colour), later brown, it came under the influence of Spanish fashion, in which black and indigo blue were the expensive colors of the nobility.

The fabrication

The production and the dyeing of the fabric for the juppe is a centuries-old craft that is only practiced in the Juppenwerkstatt Riefensberg. The workshop works on pre-order and only in a small number in stock. For dyeing, glue is boiled for hours in pots according to an ancient recipe, which is made from 16 kilos of

cowhide Cowhide is the natural, unbleached skin and hair of a cow. It retains the original coloring of the animal. Cowhides are a product of the food industry from cattle. Cowhide is frequently processed into leather. Process Once a cow has been killed ...

. The black-dyed

linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong, absorbent, and dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. It also ...

fabric is dipped into it, slightly twisted, laid out on the meadow and then shined and pleated by machines that are more than a hundred years old. The

pleat A pleat (plait in older English) is a type of fold formed by doubling fabric back upon itself and securing it in place. It is commonly used in clothing and upholstery to gather a wide piece of fabric to a narrower circumference. Pleats are cat ...

ing machine set up in Riefensberg was built by a Bregenz Forest locksmith over many years after he had drawn a machine that was exhibited at the Paris World's Fair in 1889 in great detail, and has since replaced the otherwise very laborious pleating by hand. The Juppenwerkstatt Riefensberg produces a special juppe fabric made of glossy linen. It is worldwide exclusively produced there. The textile takes a full six months until it is finally suitable for further processing. The Bregenz Forest is the only valley in which there is a separate artisan for every detail of the traditional costume. These include hat makers, jupp seamstresses, embroiderers, weavers and goldsmiths for the belt buckles. File:Weiße Juppe 7.JPG, Girl in a white juppe (front) File:Weiße Juppe 9.JPG, Girl in a white juppe (back) File:Juppentracht 05.JPG, Woman in blackmith costume with daughter in redmith costume File:Bleotz 01.JPG, The "Bleotz" which is artfully decorated with gold-silver embroidery File:Juppen Schnalle 01.JPG, Three-part belt of a female Bregenz Forest costume File:Schäohüte.JPG, Women in the Bregenz Forest costume with summer straw hats ("Schäohüte")

The museum

The Juppenwerkstatt Riefensberg is open to visitors from May 1 to October 31. Visitors are able to get an idea of the hard work and to follow the creation process of the stiff, shiny fabric, which is laid in hundreds of folds. In order to introduce visitors to the elaborate production of a Bregenz Forest women's costume, a

seamstress A dressmaker, also known as a seamstress, is a person who makes custom clothing for women, such as dresses, blouses, and evening gowns. Dressmakers were historically known as mantua-makers, and are also known as a modiste or fabrician. Nota ...

embroiderer Embroidery is the craft of decorating Textile, fabric or other materials using a sewing needle, needle to apply yarn, thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. In modern days, emb ...

, weaver or

hat maker Hat-making or millinery is the design, manufacture and sale of hats and other headwear. A person engaged in this trade is called a milliner or hatter. Historically, milliners, typically women shopkeepers, produced or imported an inventory of g ...

is present as part of a tour. Guided tours are possible by appointment. The Juppenwerkstatt has its own collection of costumes, which it is constantly expanding and which is presented as part of the exhibitions. Special exhibitions deal with different parts of the tracht (e.g., the belt, the hat), with the production and treatment of the juppe fabric (e.g.,

transfer printing Transfer printing is a method of decorating pottery or other materials using an engraved copper or steel plate from which a monochrome print on paper is taken which is then transferred by pressing onto the ceramic piece. Fleming, John & Hugh H ...

and embossing) or with various costume designs from the region and beyond.

History of the museum

In 1993, when the last traditional costume dyer in the Bregenz Forest closed his business due to age, the continued existence of the traditional linen costume of the Bregenz Forest women was in danger. It was not produced for ten years. Shortly before the death of the last costume dyer, he passed on the secret of the juppe dyeing. With the support of the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

and the European

LEADER programme The community-led local development (CLLD) funding approach, initially limited to the rural areas under the name LEADER (the acronym standing for french: Liaison entre actions de développement de l'économie rurale, en, Links between actions fo ...

, the municipality of

was ready to set up a new costume dyeing facility in the business section of the old ''Krone'' inn, which was supposed to provide the fabrics for the continuing need for Juppen and give visitors an insight into the manufacturing process. In 2002, the non-profit organisation "Juppenwerkstatt Riefensberg" was founded. In 2003, the workshop and museum was opened.

Architecture

The

Bregenz Bregenz (; gsw, label= Vorarlbergian, Breagaz ) is the capital of Vorarlberg, the westernmost state of Austria. The city lies on the east and southeast shores of Lake Constance, the third-largest freshwater lake in Central Europe, between Switze ...

architect Gerhard Gruber was commissioned with the adaptation of a 350-year-old farm building in the center of Riefensberg. This means that the old farmhouse was not demolished and replaced by a functional new building, but the current user, the Juppenwerkstatt, adapted to the circumstances. The renovation was carried out by local craft businesses using locally available building materials. The dye works was built in the basement, while further work steps on the way to the juppe are housed in the former cattle barn, horse stable and haystack. The three main work areas finishing kitchen (dyeing black and strengthening with glue), glazing room (shining) and pleating room (

ing) are housed here. Heating the building would not be justifiable from an energetic point of view, so the workshop is closed in winter. Only one room inside the room, a "box" in the barn, can be heated. The sewing room is located in it and the room functions as a course room. The top and bottom of the box reinforce the gable wall. The wooden shingle facade on the northeast side of the building was completely replaced by a facade made of large glass shingles. This allowed the character of the old windowless facade to be retained. When asked about the nature of his project, Gerhard Gruber thinks that the Juppenwerkstatt corresponds to the attempt to counteract the "museumisation" of the valuable Bregenzerwald costume, the thicket and the dust of decades and to keep the dialogue between tradition and progress going.

References

External links

Home page

Website of "Intracht"
an association to maintain the traditional Bregenz Forest juppe {{in lang, de Local museums in Austria Museums in Vorarlberg Culture of Vorarlberg Tourist attractions in Vorarlberg Vorarlberg