5 Crafts to Try and Buy in Austria

A country's crafts reveal its culture, so return home with a cowbell or snowglobe to remind you of Austria's Alpine meadows

- By Sarah Riches. Photographs by Tirol Werbung, Eichner Bernhard, Robert Kalb, Sarah Gilbert, Shutterstock

1 COWBELLS

Austrian farmers tie bells to cattle so they can find them if they wander off. Traditionally, blacksmiths made the bells by pressing sheets of steel together, hammering them into shape and welding them. After adding handles, they dip them in brass, polish them and paint images of flowers or chalets on them by hand.

2 SNOW GLOBES

Inspired by cobblers' lamps - water-filled glass balls used to magnify candlelight - Erwin Perzy I invented the snowglobe in Vienna around 1900. They are still made by hand, and often feature mountain village scenes and Vienna's Ferris wheel, St Stephen's Cathedral and City Hall under a blanket of fake snow.

3 MASKS