#3 Folk Culture

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                                                     Traditional Clothing in Salzburg

Traditional clothing is often one of the interesting aspects of a country's culture. it's often associated with region and represents cultural identity. In Salzburg, this clothing consists of Dirndlkleid which is a dress, Lederhosen which are breeches, and Joppe which is a jacket. They used to be worn mainly in rural areas for physical work. The dresses and breeches were plain without many decorations. On special occasions such as holidays, people wore more elaborate clothing. Dirndl, for example was made of silk, brocade or velvet. In the middle of 19th century, the clothing also became popular among the tourists. Now, many shops can be found in Salzburg selling the original traditional costumes. There are also souvenir shops which sell their cheaper versions or clothing similar/based on the traditional for the wider range of tourists.

The Dirndl consists of a blouse, bodice, full skirt falling below the knee, and apron.
Accessories include silk scarves and waistcoats.
Lederhosen are breeches made of leather and they usually are short or knee-lenght.
The Tyrolean hat is also sold in Salzburg and it comes from Tirol.


In Salzburg, I noticed people from all age groups wearing these clothes: from very young children to elders. Most of them I found during Rupertikirtag and on other special occasions like weddings and concerts, and holidays. I also noticed that people in small villages wear them quite often, also during usual Sundays.  People wearing these costumes mainly come from Austria or Germany, especially from the regions surrounding Salzburg. I think that people from all economic situations wear this because the clothes, even though they are often expensive, are very well made and can be worn for a long time. People also enjoy wearing them often, on many different occasions. For example, recently I found few women on an advent concert wearing the dresses and also an elderly couple wearing these clothes in town.



I visited few different shops on Getreidegasse and Goldgasse. I noticed that most of them are located in the center of Salzburg, especially in the old town. I think that the reason for this location is based on the amount of tourists visiting these areas. I also visited a souvenir shop to compare the original clothing with its cheap adaptations. This shop was located near Getreidegasse as well.

Getreidegasse

Goldgasse

I noticed a big difference between the quality of original Dirndl, Lederhosen, and Joppe and their cheaper version in souvenir shop. The original ones were made from silk, cotton, wool, leather, and felt. The ones from the souvenir shop were made of cheap materials, mostly from polyester. The original clothes are handmade in Austria and some of the materials, such as wool, are also coming from Austria. It is possible that many of these items are made in Salzburg or in the area. They have, therefore, high quality and are far more expensive than the adaptations of these clothes in souvenir shops. The clothes that I found in the souvenir shop were labeled as "made specially for Europe". There was nothing mentioned about their real origin but I think that most likely they were made in China, probably massively produced. This increases their availability for more tourists but you can see the difference between them and original pieces and they also have worse quality. Unlike the original clothes, they won't last that long. 

In the souvenir shop, the blouse part of the dress costed around 40 euros. Similar prize was for the adaptations of Lederhosen. The whole outfit wouldn't cost more than 100 euros.

The original clothes were expensive. The dresses costed around 300 euros and the breeches 600 euros. The cheapest dress I found costed 190 euros. Most of the coats costed around 400 euros. 

Souvenir shop

Scarves seen outside the shop.
They became later also a part of the traditional
clothing in Salzburg and are often bought by tourists.

Blouse based on Dirndl in the souvenir shop.

Blouse seen inside with the label "made specially for EU"

Adaptation of Lederhosen

Price of the adaptation of Lederhosen

Attire for children in souvenir shop

Original Dirndls

One of the shops seen outside

Vests and Joppe

Price of Lederhosen, 600 euros

Coats and Dirndls

          

Prices for the woman's attire

One of the displays

                                                                                  

One of the shops

Price of the coat

One of the shops from outside

material of coats and Joppe

The traditional clothes became again more popular throughout the years, especially since the beginning of tourism in 19th century. Many tourists come to Salzburg and they are often interested in them because they are one of the most characteristic parts of the culture of that regions. The musical "The Sound of Music"from 1959 also contributed to the popularity of these clothes. Many fashion designers, such as Vivienne Westwood got interested in this clothing and recommend people to wear it. They also create new pieces of clothing based of the traditional ones. 

Many people coming from Salzburg and region like to wear these clothes also because they are their unique cultural identity in their nation, a tradition that they shared for many years and still want to follow. 

#2 Population and Migration

                               How International Migration Affects the Urban Landscape


Salzburg has around 20 000 immigrants. Every year new immigrants come to Austria to seek economic opportunities. Their adaptation to the new surroundings changes and affects the urban landscape. It is mostly visible in the part of the city were immigrants live together. They often choose to live together to preserve their culture and to find in those areas cheaper apartments. The immigrants set up there shops with food and clothes, restaurants, clubs, and other services that are often based on their culture and have goods imported from their countries. This activity is an example of cultural diffusion.

The first place that we observed was a Turkish Consulate. It is located on Strubergasse. It serves as a representation of Turkey in Austria. It helps turkish immigrants solve their problems, secure their rights in a foreign country, and it also provides safety.

Turkish Consulate on Google Maps

Turkish Consulate

The other facilities were located on Ignaz-Harrer Straße. There was an Indian restaurant, shop with   clothes, and an Islamic Center with mosque. 

Satellite image of Ignaz-Harrer Straße

                                        

The immigrants coming from India often choose to go to an Indian restaurant like this because they are accustomed to eating this kind of food in their country. Sometimes they can't buy all the food products in Salzburg from India and cook their traditional food, so they go to this restaurant to eat it. Some of the people also can't or don't want to adapt completely to the Austrian food and this restaurant is their alternative. They also simply might prefer to eat their traditional food.

Indian restaurant

The clothing shop sells shawls and clothing which, for most of the muslim immigrants, are an important part of their culture. They are also associated with their laws and religion. These clothes are an example of basic needs acquired by the immigrants.

Shop with clothes

The Islamic Center contains mosque which is an important place of worship for the muslims. It's where the people can meet and pray and in this way preserve some of their traditions. 

Islamic Center

The last place we observed was an internet cafe located next to Hauptbahnhof. Not all of the immigrants have access to internet because of for example economic problems. It is also a place where they can meet and talk. They can also connect with their home country and learn what's happening there.

Entrance to the internet cafe

Other places we saw were:

kebab restaurant

grocery shop with food from around the world

Afro shop

#1 The Labyrinth

                                           The Labyrynth, Landeskrankenshaus



On Google maps you have the possibility to view the labryinth in two-dimensional form, as a satellite image.

satellite image, Google maps- labyrinth seen from above

 When I went to see it for the first time, my impression of it completely changed:

• The perspective became different  because it wasn't anymore a flat representation of a labyrinth.
•  I could expierience it on my own through using my senses and actually walking through it. 
• Walking through it made me also think about it. I was paying attention to how it was constructed and how it organized the space.
• I think that it can be considered a ground truthing because I was inspecting this terrain, making observations, and collecting informations about it.
•  It was also different from most of the labiryths I saw. It was completely flat and the paths were separated by grass, while the other labirynths I saw had high walls, usually made from bushes. From my path I could see the destination, which was the middle. On other labirynths I never saw the destantion until I reached it. It was different from what I expected.   

This labyrinth was an interesting composition. It was a quite a long path organized or compressed into a small amount of space. The destination was the middle which could constantly be seen from every part of the labirynth. When I was walking through it, I had an impression that I was very close to the middle but the path was constantly leading me away from it. Only after a while I was able to reach the destination. It is made of stone and grass and there is a stone slab next to it with "the way of truth" written on it.

Labyrinth could be seen as a map because it organizes space, includes a specific path and the destination. Maps usually help you to find destination and lead you to it, just like this labyrinth does. They describe and represent the terrain. Labyrinth makes you think about space and how it is organized. It can tell you how some things have to be placed within a small amount of space and how the space is going to be used. It can be related, for example, to the population or buildings that often also have to fit into a certain or limited  amount of space.

The geographical imagination is how we think and how we structure our knowledge of space. We make up maps in our minds with characteristic features that we remember very well. We apply them to find our final destination. These mind maps are never exactly accurate but they help us find desired place and they help us find ourselves within our world. This imagination gives us also an impression of a place.

Labyrinth represents the complexity of human minds and imaginations. It leads us through a certain path to the destination. We also use geographical imagination to find a specific place . Through this imagination, we also organize the space. We make up maps in our heads that we will be able to use then all the time. We pay attention to the easily recognized or remembered features and use them to describe the place or find the destination. The labyrinth is also used to represent knowledge. We use geographical imagination to organize our knowledge of world and the way we perceive it.

part of the labyrinth

labyrinth, Landeskrankenhaus