When is the photo exhibition on display?

The exhibition runs from September 24 to December 11, 2026.

Where is the exhibition taking place?

The exhibition is on display at the State Archive Landshut, Schlachthofstraße 10, 84034 Landshut.

What are the opening hours?

The State Archive is open Monday to Thursday from 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM and Friday from 8:30 AM to 1:00 PM. It is closed on weekends.

What is the admission fee?

Admission to the photo exhibition is free.

What content does the exhibition show?

About 50 historical photographs are displayed from a collection of over 8,000 objects. The subjects show people at work, at celebrations, in everyday life, as well as local views and construction projects in the Bavarian Forest.

Are there any closing days?

The exhibition will be closed on October 15, November 12, and November 30, 2026.

Historical Images Tell of Life in the Bavarian Forest Between Work, Celebrations, and Breakthrough

Name: Photo Exhibition “People in the Bavarian Forest 1900-1950”
Start: 2026-09-24T08:30:00+02:00
End: 2026-12-11T16:00:00+01:00
Location: Staatsarchiv Landshut

People in the Bavarian Forest: A Photographic Journey Through a Disappeared Way of Life

The photo exhibition “People in the Bavarian Forest 1900-1950” at the State Archive Landshut opens a view into a region between Regensburg, Passau, the Danube, and the Czech border. About 50 historical photographs from a collection of over 8,000 postcards and photos from the House of Bavarian History tell stories of work, everyday life, celebrations, landscapes, and social change.

Historic Photography as Cultural Memory

Postcards are much more than tourist mementos. They document local images, working worlds, and social relationships, making visible how the Bavarian Forest was perceived around 1900. The exhibition connects photographic sources with regional historical research and opens a vivid examination of everyday history, documentary photography, and visual memory culture.

Between Glass Factory, Forest Work, and Celebration

At the center are the people themselves: glassworkers, mushroom gatherers, tree planters, seamstresses, wedding walkers, nuns, St. Nick’s, and dandies. The images show an agriculturally shaped society as well as early industrialization processes. Photos from glass factories, celebrations like the Corpus Christi procession, and from Carnival with masquerader masks allow regional identity to emerge in its different social and cultural expressions.

Places of Breakthrough and Change

The photographic narrative goes beyond portraits. Local views, hotels, spectacular railway bridges, and the construction of the railway line Obernzell-Untergriesbach refer to mobility, infrastructure, and economic development. A photo from around 1915 shows tree planters during reforestation and recalls the ecological consequences of intensive deforestation as well as the significance of female labor in landscape maintenance.

Curating and Academic Context

The displayed views were selected and commented on by Dr. Richard Loibl, director of the House of Bavarian History and himself a native Waidler. The curation understands the exhibition as an entry into a scientific project: Visitors are invited to recognize depicted places, people, and situations and contribute their knowledge to the exploration of the collection.

An Artistic Experience Between Image Source and Memory

The aesthetic experience of the historical photographs arises from the interplay of faces, work gestures, architecture, and landscape. In the exhibition atmosphere, documentary accuracy meets the staging of the postcard. It is precisely this tension that makes the examination of the works stimulating: The images preserve the past while simultaneously raising questions about origin, modernization, and regional self-description.

Conclusion: Bavarian History in Direct View

The exhibition awaits visitors with a concentrated, image-rich journey through the Bavarian Forest of the first half of the 20th century. Those interested in photography, regional history, everyday culture, and cultural education will experience historical spaces up close. A visit to the State Archive Landshut enriches the aesthetic experience and makes visible how much history can be preserved in a single image.