Bright colours set against a golden background, juxtaposed with a deep black wedding dress: traditional Donauschwäbische (Danube-Swabian)clothing offers surprising insights into the past lives and lifestyles of the region’s women and girls. Their world was both defined and confined by village and church rules, yet it was also inclusive, reflecting the diversity of a multicultural society.

The exhibition forges ties between tradition and modern life, ideology and reality, past and present textile upcycling. It provides glimpses into the lives of Danube-Swabian women, who settled in the Kingdom of Hungary as descendants of German-speaking emigrants from the late 17th to the 19th centuries, where they lived as one ethnic group among many.

Twenty clothing ensembles, numerous photographs, drawings by Erna Piffl and other objects clearly emphasise that personal memories are woven into textiles and life stories are inextricably linked to them. They encourage visitors to delve into European history and stories about arrival, existence, boundaries and integration, about putting down roots and being uprooted.

Publication Accompanying the Exhibition

A bilingual (German/English) publication accompanies the exhibition: Schwerer Stoff. Frauen – Trachten – Lebensgeschichten | Heavy Fabric: Women – Traditional Costume – Life Stories, published by the Donauschwäbisches Zentralmuseum in Ulm with texts by Henrike Hampe, 156 pages with numerous colour illustrations, ISBN 978-3-00-079622-7.

A special exhibition of the Donauschwäbisches Zentralmuseum, Ulm, at the Museum Europäischer Kulturen (MEK, Museum of European Cultures) ‒ Staatliche Museen zu Berlin