origin

The clues are inexorably accumulating in Hausruck, interest in the region’s history is on the rise. One facet—a not insignificant one—is the question of what role National Socialism played in this part of Upper Austria. It’s only been in recent years that the process of coming to terms with this issue has made some headway.

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“Of course we’ve had our share of skeptics during the planning phase. The question: ‘Do you really think they’re going to be able to pull that off?’ was heard quite a bit in these parts. But now the naysayers are going to have to eat their words.” And Mayor Josef Senzenberger of Ottnang am Hausruck ought to know what he’s talking about. He’s been a regular at Theater Hausruck performances since 2005, and not just because he and his constituents live at the foot of Pettenfirst, one of the locations of previous years’ productions and the setting of the opening event of the 2011 Ars Electronica Festival.

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Theater and investigation; archeology; unearthing what’s buried—layer by layer by layer. Upper Austria’s Hausruck region is the site of a fascinatingly dense concentration of events, stories and history. Since 2005 Theater Hausruck has been uncovering these strata, digging and stirring things up, and its successes has been rewarded with sold-out houses and rave reviews. It has transported audiences to the absurdest of locations, left them to grope in the dark and figure out for themselves if they’ve crossed the border between fiction and reality, strapped them into emotional roller coasters, and left them substantially impressed indeed. The Ars Electronica visits the Hausruck and kicks off this year’s festival in an once in a lifetime experience. The first part of the Hausruck-story can be found here.

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If you pay a visit to a rather out-of-the-way region of Upper Austria named Hausruck, you’re immediately struck by the moderate weather. Its horseshoe-shaped chain of hills extending from Waldzell to Haag am Hausruck acts as a natural barrier. It doesn’t take long to see the light. As Theater Hausruck’s Chris Müller so aptly puts it: “The show must go on, even in case of clement weather!” And who could argue with that? In this spirit, Ars Electronica cordially invites you to go on an outing to Hausruck on the evening of September 1st, a trip that will neither be rained out nor called on account of oppressive heat.

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