In 1973, historically interested citizens around the architect Ferdinand Hölzl founded a museum of local history in Zell am See. It was initially housed in Rosenberg Castle (town hall) until it moved to the medieval Vogtturm tower in the town center in 1984. Cavaliere Horst Scholz was the curator, soul and driving force behind the museum until 2016. He built up the collection with great dedication and designed the permanent exhibition as well as numerous special exhibitions.
In 2016, the museum had to be closed by the building authorities. The only entrance and the narrow staircase were no longer compatible with current standards for escape routes. This resulted in a new concept and redesign of the Vogtturm. The driving force behind this was Dr. Rudolf Oberschneider, who developed project proposals with architect Andreas Schmid and exhibition designer Uwe Neuhold.
In 2019/2020, the tower was extensively renovated under the direction of Erich Erker, with the exhibition space being extended into the adjacent building and the exhibition completely modernized. The costs were borne by the municipality of Zell am See, the province of Salzburg and Bankhaus Spängler. Since then, the Vogtturm Museum has been available to locals and guests alike as a meeting and educational place in its new splendor.