Visit us at
Harald Krejči, Director of the Museum der Moderne Salzburg | © Tourismus Salzburg GmbH
Portraits
Art as a total sensuous experience: Harald Krejči
One museum, two locations, one mission – making art readily accessible and understandable. Since the beginning of 2023, Harald Krejči – a self-confessed Salzburg fan – has conducted the affairs of the Salzburg Museum of Modern Art. The art expert kindly agreed to talk to us about art in general and in particular – about Salzburg and (world) culture, and about places where we forget time.
Mr Krejči, you moved to Salzburg for your job as Director of the Museum of Modern Art. What made the town so attractive for you?
First, the Museum itself. I find it very attractive, and it houses fine collections. The two locations are wonderful. On the one hand, the Rupertinum, in the heart of the Old Town and rooted in history. On the other hand, the modern Museum, hovering like a satellite on the hill. I see it as a challenge, to reduce the distance suggested by the situation and the Mönchsberg lift. Then I find the town itself fascinating – incredibly beautiful, with its long tradition and its vibrant cultural scene. Salzburg offers a unique quality of life, with its natural surroundings and lakes.
"The spirit of the age in the Cultural Heritage site": Where do you find this particularly well demonstrated in Salzburg?
I think, especially through the deep roots established by the Salzburg Festival, which provides a momentum, an identification factor that picks up the spirit of the age and conveys it as representing Salzburg. In addition, there is the musical tradition with Mozart, and the dialogue with today's performers. For me, the "spirit of the age" also signifies a very open treatment of the concept of art. The spirit of the age we live in is dynamic and changeable. World heritage is dynamic – this is how I feel it when I walk around Salzburg. From the Mozart Week, through the Easter Festival, all the way to street dance and the Summer Festiva l– Salzburg offers so much to people, bringing them together for shared experiences. I find it life-enhancing, how readily co-operative societies and institutions are here. It's easy to make contact with people. This is no fulsome praise, but precisely what I have experienced during my first months in the new job.
Harald Krejči at the Museum der Moderne Salzburg Mönchsberg | © Tourismus Salzburg GmbH
Museum der Moderne Salzburg Altstadt (Rupertinum) | © Tourismus Salzburg GmbH / B. Brunauer
Exhibition at the Museum der Moderne Salzburg Mönchsberg | © Tourismus Salzburg GmbH
Sphaera at Kapitelplatz in Salzburg | © Tourismus Salzburg GmbH / M. Kohlmayr
What is special for you about the location of the Museum of Modern Art?
The combination of Museum and Mönchsberg makes for an incredible total experience. You go up, out of the town, passing World Heritage sites, through natural surroundings, with a view of the Fortress before you. Sculptures stand in front of the building, and there's a fine restaurant with excellent cuisine. The experience is manifold. My wish is for art to be just this kind of experience. The Museum may offer a different view of specific things. It can invite you to pause and reflect. To some extent, this provides a link with the woods – you go out for a breath of air, to clear your mind. Perhaps also to be at one with yourself and at the same time to enhance your life with new experiences. Then you wander back down to the town to continue with your work and your activities. For me, art always has something to do with sensuous experience. This is what we, up here on the hill, want to convey – to combine the experience of nature and that of the Museum.
What exactly is the difference between the Museum on the Mönchsberg and the Rupertinum location in the Old Town?
Basically, these are two locations of our Museum. The Rupertinum is the historic building in the Old Town, beside the Festival Halls. For me, this location also conveys history and is linked with what is going on in the town. The Mönchsberg is more a place for art as a total experience. Here we have larger rooms and more exhibition space. In future, we would like to see festivities more as an integral part of the Museum – for instance, as part of exhibition openings.
What are your feelings about the Belvedere project, the Salzburg branch of the Vienna Belvedere in the newly created exhibition space in the New Residenz?
The Belvedere will definitely enhance Salzburg as a museum location. I see that as added value and an advantage – also for us, because the Belvedere will cover an area otherwise not so evident in Salzburg. I don't see it at all as a competitor – on the contrary, as an exciting mutual enrichment.
You set great store by art education. How are you going to put this into practice, in your new role?
I would like visitors to have ready access to the information they need to enable them to engage with art. Two things are necessary in the Museum: understanding and appreciation. I can appreciate something only if I understand it. We have to provide for this in the Museum.
WHAT MAKES SALZBURG UNIQUE FOR YOU?
The close interaction of nature and culture – in Salzburg this is incredibly perceptible and tangible. The four hills surrounding the Old Town like a crown, the River Salzach, the wonderful baroque Old Town, the Fortress standing guard over it all. That is really unique. Unique for me, too, is that you can look down from four hills and always have a different view of the town. No-one sees Salzburg the same way. Despite all the tradition, Salzburg also has the potential for innovation; it's progressive, though still aware of its roots. This is very important. You have to know where you come from, in order to know where you're going.
INSIDER TIPS
Where can you see art free of charge in public space?
On the way from Nonntal to the Museum, I like to stop on the Kapitelplatz. The sculpture Sphaera by Stephan Balkenhol is fantastic. The link between the church tower with the golden ball and the ball on which the man (who could be anyone) stands is a great symbol. I also like the graffiti under the ball; they show that people have taken the sculpture to their hearts. The same with the chess pieces beside it – here is a place for social life, for art and intellectuality, but also for spirituality – congenial place, indeed! I like to stand there and just look on. Time passes differently here – and art is good when it makes you forget time.
What events do you attend in Salzburg?
I'd like to go to a concert in the Rockhouse. I also like experimental electronic music and New Music. I've been in the Haus der Natur, because a colleague held an art exhibition there, and I've already visited the DomQuartier. Oh, yes – and I'm looking forward to the focus on Ligeti at this year's Salzburg Festival.
What modern restaurant do you like best?
"Das Schrei" – a pop-up restaurant. I ate really well there – it was a special experience. This would be my insider tip.
Final question: What's your favourite viewpoint for the Old Town?
The view from the Museum terrace on the Mönchsberg is wonderful. You look along the River Salzach and into the Old Town, you can see the Fortress and the mountains behind. The Mönchsberg is a very special place with particularly fine views. Every day I walk to work over the Krauthügel – through an almost village-like situation, up to the town. At first, I took a photo every day – simply because every day it was so beautiful.
