Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger was born on July 30, 1947 in Thal, Styria close to Graz. His childhood and adolescence were spent in the official residence of the Thal police force, the former forester’s lodge of the Herberstein dynasty. He left Thal on August 20, 1966 to conquer the world. Due to his successful careers in bodybuilding, acting and politics, he can rightly be considered as the most famous Austrian of our time.

Thanks to personal initiative of  Peter Urdl, Arnold’s longtime friend and former mayor of Thal, these careers have been opened to the public in 2001. In May 2004 the “Arnold Schwarzengger Wanderweg” was formerly opened with a length of either 3,5 km (2.2 mi), 9,5 km (6 mi) or 13,5 km (8.5 mi). Go hiking in the footsteps of Arnold! In February 2005 a special exhibition followed. It was located next to the famous “Jakobikirche”, a church that was designed by the Fantastic Realism painter Ernst Fuchs. There, visitors from all around the world were able to marvel at memorabilia and gifts that were provided by Mr. Schwarzenegger.

Even before the museum has opened it gates and the property still was privately owned, Arnold’s birthplace has been visited by many fans from all around the globe. The idea of creating a museum was discussed with Arnold when he visited his hometown in 2007, an idea Arnold was fond of. So he offered full support of providing the future museum with personal belongings. In 2009 the property in Thal 145 was released for auction. Christian Baha, the founding principal of Superfund, proved to be a generous patron and won the auction. Along with Peter Urdl, Baha’s dedication was an important element to make the dream of the “Arnold Schwarzenegger Museum” come true.

July 30, 2011, on Arnold’s 64th birthday the property was inaugurated. On October 7, of the same year, the larger than life bronze statue that shows Arnold in his prime mastering the 3/4 back pose, designed by the artist Ralph Crawford was unveiled and the museum officially have been opened to the public. Ever since, the museum advanced along with Arnold and it is constantly growing. New exhibition areas have been introduced like a sector focused on his army days as well as movie props from his most famous roles … and the story goes on…