Jewish Museum of the City of Vienna — Attraction in Vienna

In 1895 the first Jewish museum was founded in Vienna, it was the first in the world. The sponsoring association was composed of a group of Viennese Jewish citizens. The collection focused on the culture and history of the Jews in the Austro-Hungarian dual monarchy, in particular on Vienna and Galicia. In the collection of the inter-war period, Zionist objects also reflected the new political discussion of that time. The museum was closed immediately after the "Anschluss" by the Nazis in 1938. In the last year of its existence, 6474 objects were entered in the inventory book. In 1939 the inventory was transferred to the Museum of Ethnology and other Viennese institutions. For the anti-Semitic propaganda exhibition "The Physical and Psychic Appearance of the Jews" the Anthropological Department of the Natural History Museum Vienna used parts of the collection. At the beginning of the 1950s, the majority of the collections were restituted to the IKG Vienna, but some were not restored until the 1990s. Over half of the objects, however, remained lost - whether willfully destroyed or stolen is hard to reconstruct. From time to time, objects that were once inventoried in the Jewish Museum can be identified on the Art and Antiques Market. The surviving objects - a permanent loan from the Jewish Community of Vienna to today's Jewish Museum of the City of Vienna - form a unique collection within...

Jewish Museum After a comprehensive renovation, the Jewish Museum in Dorotheergasse presents itself with a newly oriented display depot and, since November 2013, also with a new permanent exhibition.

Since its reopening in October 2011, the Jewish Museum in Palais Eskeles has welcomed its visitors with a light installation by the artist Brigitte Kowanz on the façade and a spacious entrance area that has been faithfully restored to its original state. The permanent exhibitions in the Jewish Museum are divided into three areas: The newly arranged Schaudepot presents collections and the collector personalities behind them, such as Max Berger. The Atelier is both a workshop and an exhibition space for everyday ritual objects.

Since November 2013, the new permanent exhibition "Our City!" has provided a comprehensive insight into Jewish life, the history of Jewish Vienna and leads from the present to the past. The journey begins on the ground floor with the years from 1945 to the present. On the second floor of Palais Eskeles, visitors experience Jewish history from its beginnings to the years 1938/1945. A 3D animation makes Vienna's synagogues, which were destroyed in 1938,...

I had great expectations ahead of visiting this museum, but felt a little deflated upon leaving. The museum displays many interesting artefacts and photographs, however the artefacts seemed quite distinct from each other. I felt that I did not gain a coherent understanding of the lives of Austrian Jews throughout the centuries, rather saw many snapshots of individual aspects that did not join together to form a larger story.

The museum relies on the visitor reading descriptions by each artefact, and some of these are quite low to read; an audioguide could be a good idea for the museum to consider. Also as a non-Jew, I found it difficult to understand some of the descriptions (such as canukkiah), a glossary would have been helpful. Nevertheless this is an important story to understand, and so I would recommend a visit. I was surprised to learn that the Jews returning after the war were not welcomed back by their...