floors and in several rooms. It gives an overview of the devel-opments, structures, actors and actions that have determinedthe history of this particular museum space.

1| The Discourse of Heimat

Heimat- meaning homeland- as a term and a concept isnever out of fashion for long. Heimat was and is used tojustify claims made in political, social and cultural contexts.A recurring vocabulary can be seen that centres aroundthe' self'- both personal and collective- and connectsdifferent spatial and emotional levels.

At the latest during the most recent presidential electioncampaign in Austria, Heimat has re- emerged as a topic withwidespread as well as political resonance. It touches onissues of familiarity and security, values and traditions, andquestions of the homegrown versus a sense of vanishinghomeland. Heimat is used flexibly and expanded accordingto the objectives at hand.

The Discourse of Heimat

In the early years of the First Austrian Republic, Heimatbecame a popular term with many different facets. Socialist' Red' Vienna understood Heimat as the most immediatesocial context, something to be recognised and shaped. Inthe unusual situation presented by the heterogeneous capitalcity of Vienna, this socialist- proletarian discourse came up