A dedication to everything Crystal, visitors to the Swarovski Crystal World at Wattens (near Innsbruck) are greeted by a large giant head flanked by the high mountains and with a waterfall cascading out of his mouth. Go through the giant’s mouth and there are 16 chambers of wonders… each the work of famous designers like Andre Heller, Alexander McQueen, Manish Arora etc.
Browse through crystal innovations like the spectacular Chandelier of Grief or the thought-provoking Heroes of Peace or wonder at the brilliance of 55 million crystals. The crystal world garden is equally breathtaking with majestic crystal clouds and many other crystal installations like the carrousel, rooms of glass and a labyrinth made of bushes. There are non-crystal attractions too like the hot dog dispensing ‘Fat Bus’ and the ancient Roman wall exhibit besides a futuristic play tower and a playground for kids of all age groups.
Background
The Swarovski Crystal World opened in 1995 and marked the 100th anniversary of the company. The brain behind this crystal wonderland is the famed multimedia artist Andre Heller who created many of the concepts and installations shown here. Heller created the story of the Giant of Tyrol who lives in Wattens and looks after his Chamber of Wonders. The inspiration behind the Chamber of Wonders is the fantastic collection accumulated by Ferdinand for his Ambras Palace (technically the first museum in the world).
Just like the Chamber of Wonders of art and science in the Ambras Castle, the Swarovski Crystal World attempts to bring together a collection of wonders of crystal all developed by international artists, architects and designers who have brought their independent lines of thoughts and shaped them in crystal.
Swarovski’s Chambers of Wonder
There are 16 rooms inside the Swarovski Chamber of Wonders and all of them are designed by great artists from across the globe.
Blue Hall
The first hall after you enter the crystal world is a dedication to the colour International Klein Blue… a shade invented by the artist Yves Klein. The Blue Hall gives visitors insights into masterpieces like Salvador Dali’s ‘Persistence of time’, Andy Warhol’s ‘Gems’ and Niki de Saint Phalle’s ‘Crystal Nana’. The place has slanted walls and looks straight out of a psychedelic video set!!
Chandelier of Grief
This is the latest acquisition… ’Infinity mirror room with the Chandelier of Grief’. Designed by Yayoi Kusama in adherence to the style followed in her mirror room in Tokyo; the principal element in this mirror-lined roof is a huge rotating chandelier made of crystal.
Crystal Dome
The Crystal Dome is made of 595 mirrors and its spell blindingly alluring… one of the most visited rooms in the crystal world. The lights keep on shattering into different colours when reflected by mirrors and it’s almost like being trapped into a huge crystal. The dome of the room was inspired by Richard Buckminster Fuller’s Geodesic dome.
For the record, Geodesy is the scientific way of geographical measurement and here it’s effectively used to create a model that’s circular like the earth and infinitely stable. The 595 crystals create an in-depth effect and are beautiful to look at but do look out for the 8 spy mirrors… these hide art objects created by different artists.
Eden
The room exhibit first demonstrates a waterfall that suddenly changes to an enchanted forest of varied lights and poles (these symbolise trees). The idea of the designer duo Fredrikson Stallard here was to make up a fantasy inspired world that springs up surprises. The waterfall shown at the beginning is a film display of an Alps waterfall complete with sound and light displays that vibrate across the room. Huge chunks of crystals pop up unexpectedly and there are magical figures of birds, reptiles, fruit and flowers that make the whole place look like a treasure trail.
55 Million Crystals
True to its name, this room contains an exhibit made of 55 million crystals and with the clever interplay of science and technology by the artist Brian Eno. The exhibit is supplemented by music, handcrafted pictorial components, state of the art computer graphics and sound to create an ever-changing cohesion that offers a different look every second. The idea is to present each viewer with an absolutely unique experience … each guest will see a version of the 55 million crystals that’s somewhat different from the next one.
Heroes of Peace
The Heroes of Peace Installation is the work of Andre Heller who has dedicated this work to the theme of peace. Projection technology is used to create life-sized holograms of individuals who have won the Nobel peace prize or have dedicated their lives to the theme of peace. There are installations of Martin Luther King, Albert Einstein, Rigoberta Menchú, Bertha von Suttner, Pablo Picasso, Nelson Mandela, John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Mahatma Gandhi etc.
Reflections
Colours change wildly in this room and its 48 featured crystal blocks all flaunt an important historical milestone. Basically, this is a kind of global milestone display with crystal accents and a spectacular light show. The lights keep on swerving wildly and look quite mind-boggling… like the set of some science fiction film.
Crystal Forest
The Crystal Forest contains a huge illuminated ball made of 10,000 crystals with strands of light that stretch across the whole length of the room. The exhibit information says that it is a sea monster and all the elements (earth, air, fire and water) are represented here. One of the best exhibits here is Cinderella’s slipper that’s completely made of crystal and has a blue gem-encrusted butterfly on it.
Ready To Love
Wildly Technicolor and filled with quotes about love and amour in Indian motifs… this is the work of designer Manish Arora. Jewel encrusted heart fairies and a bewildering staircase greet the visitors here.
Ice Passage
At first glance, this is just an empty passage but as you walk on the floor a series of tracks appear with crystalline designs. As you go deeper the tracks become more prominent and soon it looks like you are walking on ice.
Other Installations
Apart from many other installations in other rooms, there are some exceptional ones like Mechanical Theatre, Alexander M.C. Queen designed Crystal Tree (Silent Light), Lee Bul’s Mirror and Crystal installation (into the Lattice sun) and things like underwear decked by crystals and biggest hand-cut crystal in the world.
Note: Most of the exhibition happens in the dark so for good photography carry a tripod and use slow shutter speed. However, there are designated ‘selfie’ spots that light up when you put your foot on them. There are lots of stairs and many dark areas that may be problematic for seniors, kids and people with mobility issues.
The exhibits are spectacular but don’t expect stuff that you see in Swarovski stores. This is more of a modern art/ futuristic exhibition of what crystal and man’s imagination can do.
Gift Store
The museum ends at a huge Swarovski store that has a vast collection of jewellery, décor items and crystal ware. There is a selection of unique items that will not be found at any other store across the world. If you hold a Swarovski membership card then you will get entry into their VIP lounge where you will be offered fine wine from beautiful Swarovski glasses and then your picture and message get posted in their guestbook. You need to bring along your passport so that you get the tax refund form.
There is a smaller gift shop that sells souvenirs and stuff like pens, nail clippers, pencils, fridge magnets etc. apart from kid’s oriented items like Darth Vader replica.
Cafes & Restaurant
Right next to the big Swarovski store there is a café that sells good coffee and pastries.
Daniels Kristallwelten at the Swarovski crystal world is almost as well known as the Chambers of Wonders. This is an upscale sophisticated restaurant that has well-selected gourmet/ healthy menu options. There are both indoor as well as outdoor seating options and both are spectacularly inviting. This is a nice place to sip wine and have a leisurely meal of ravioli (try the pumpkin version). However, the menu and the ambience are both more suited towards adults than teens and kids.
Outdoor Area
If you are going with kids or are not particularly a fan of Swarovski or bling or even modern art then the outdoor area with its multiple fun zones will appeal to you more. The Austrian musician Emil Berliner has translated the crystal vibrations into musical tones and sounds using strings and brass. The music varies in tone and intensity to suit the different atmospheres of the garden.
Enroute to the giant and Chamber of Wonders the music scales up and birdsongs and raindrops are added to create a lovely ambience. Sea and bells are heard under the Crystal Cloud bringing about a completely different experience. The outdoor area has a play tower and playground apart from the gardens with the Crystal Cloud and the Alpine walk. Everything is wheelchair accessible apart from the Alpine walk.
Play Tower & Playground
The first thing that will strike you about the play tower is its 160 crystal facets infused with minuscule animal drawings that make up the façade. The tower has playing experiences on all 4 levels and these are connected by a vertical net that can be climbed onto a height of 14 meters. Climb, rock climb, float and swing… these are just some of the things your kids can do in this cool space though you can’t leave kids below age 14 here unattended.
Special features include a sliding puzzle that has the giant as a theme and a unique animal memory game.
The outdoor playground enhanced by a playground landscape made of wood and steel is suitable for younger kids and it too has a 25-meter long climbing route and the twisty ball runs plus a water play area.
Crystal Clouds
The centrepiece of the outdoor area is designed by Xavier Perrol and Andy Cao, the huge crystal clouds (surface area 1400 sq. meters) stand dreamily over the black mirror pool that’s studded with millions of fireflies. The crystal clouds stand tall over a large pool of water and the 800,000 hand-mounted crystals catch reflections of natural light illuminating the earth below in a kind of serene moonlit glow. A closer look will tell you that the structures are made of chicken wire.
Roman Excavations
This is a newly opened area that contains a wall dating back to Roman times sourced from a settlement on the Roman road in lower Inn valley. Also on display are many Roman silver coins.
Crystallised Carousel
Swarovski has created a Carousel decorated with 15 million crystals in collaboration with Jaime Hayon. This black and white carousel has warm lights and seats designed by fantasy characters and exudes a fairy tale atmosphere. The faces that deck up the roof of the carousel have happiness, joy and surprise written on them. You will find this carrousel (free entry) at the southwest corner of the garden.
Labyrinth
A green hand made by Andre Heller in the form of a natural maze is the perfect place to play hide and seek. Kids and adults can both enjoy this part of the outdoor zone.
Fat Bus
Erwin Wurm designed a VW bus that’s now made to look like a fat hot dog and it’s supposed to be a sardonic comment on our growing levels of obesity. From spring to autumn the bus which is actually a fully functional hot dog stand is open from 11.30 am to 7.30 pm but in winters the timings are erratic.
Alpine Garden & Observation Deck
A small yet pretty Alpine garden filled with curated plants from the Alps leads all visitors to the observation deck atop the Chamber of Wonders. From here, guests can peer through a lens made of Swarovski Optik.
Apart from these, there are other installations like Prologue III (steel frame with a veil of Swarovski crystal drops), Kairos (original Wilhelminian armoire that symbolises the history of Swarovski) and Ford Crystal Blue (a string of rooms made with bare glass) and Conveyor Belt etc.
Open Hours
The Swarovski Crystal World is open from 8.30 am in the morning to 7.30 pm every day. It’s open on all holidays. However, on Christmas eve and New Year’s eve, it closes in the afternoon and early evening respectively. It will take you at least 2 to 3 hours to see the exhibition properly.
The Crystal World is beautiful at any time of the year but from November it becomes lovelier with added light installations special celebrations. Usually from the end of November to January first week, a winter celebration is created with Christmas trees, fairy tale figurines and special light shows. Also, a great time to visit is the Festival of Lights (late January to early February) when millions of lights decorate the garden and make it look like a fairyland. Usually, Crystal World has extended opening hours during these periods.
Tickets & Tours
There are 3 options of tickets at the crystal world. There is a day ticket valid for the entire day offering entry into the chamber of wonders, garden, playhouse and crystal cloud and giving visitors free Wi-Fi and visitors map. This ticket is valid for 4 hours after any time that you choose to enter.
Or there is the option of a ticket voucher that can be brought online and is not restricted to any date though the time limit of 4 hours still applies. This ticket voucher needs to be exchanged for an actual voucher at counters 5 and 6.
The family ticket is available on both day ticket and voucher option and includes an entry for 1 adult and two kids or 2 adults and 2 kids. The ticket prices start at 19 euros.
You can buy the admission ticket online through this Viator site.
You can also purchase an admission ticket along with a shuttle transfer from Innsbruck through this Viator site.
How To Reach
The Swarovski Crystal World is located in the town of Wattens near Innsbruck (20 minutes of drive away) and it’s flanked by ice-clad mountains which means that the journey is spectacular.
The Swarovski Kristallwelten Shuttle (VVT) takes visitors to Swarovski Crystal world from Innsbruck Terminal Marktplatz station five times each day. You can get a two-way ticket for 9.50 euro and a one-way ticket for 5.00 euro. Transport for kids up to the age of 15 is free. The shuttle journey is free for tourists who hold the Welcome Card and the Innsbruck Card.
Swarovski Kristallwelten, Kristallweltenstraße 1, 6112 Wattens
Phone: +43 5224 51080
Email: [email protected]; Website
Once you are done seeing the Swarovski Crystal world, you can enjoy a fairly priced meal at Das Grander on Dr Felix Bunzl Strasse. For 15 euros you get starters and mains and dessert which is way cheaper than the in-house restaurant at Crystal world. Or else, there is Carlo’s Restolounge Pizzeria on Doutor Hans Gollierstrasse.
A travel addict. Still celebrating the day when he quit his high-profile corporate job to pursue his passion for travel writing.