The years between 1750 and 1850 were marked by major changes associated with even bigger buzzwords. In this book, the developments of this saddle time are viewed from a special point of view, from the perspective of a periphery, an Alpine valley. The focus is on one person: Michael Pfurtscheller. The story of a rural society on the threshold of modernity is mounted on the framework of his biography - based on an abundance of sources. This gives an insight into the world of Pfurtscheller and his surroundings, which on the one hand show how contemporaries were influenced by the "great history", but on the other hand also make clear which room for maneuver was opened up to them and how this was used.