The Museum of Medical Meteorology

The Museum of Medical Meteorology, housed in a cloister in the small village of Dürnhof, Austria, is dedicated to the relationship between weather and folk medicine. The only English description of the museum that we’ve been able to locate is in the wonderful and indispensable guidebook Weird Europe: A Guide to Bizarre, Macabre, and Just Plain Weird Sights, which ought to be owned by anyone who plans to visit the continent:
“From witchcraft to alleriges, barometers to blood-letting, the exhibits embark on a remarkable multidisciplinary approach to historical analysis. One entire room is devoted to the symbolism of frogs and snakes, which supposedly have supernatural powers to ensure youthful vigor, fertility and rain for the crops (see the connection?). Elsewhere you’ll learn about alchemy, divining rods, the the Theory of Similarities, anti-lightning talismans and the fusing of Christian and pagan philosophies in the Central European rural psyche.”
Two other guidebooks we recommend for the Kircherian tourist in America:
* Little Museums: Over 1,000 Small (And Not-So-Small) American Showplaces
* Offbeat Museums: A Guided Tour of America’s Weirdest and Wackiest Museums
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