Jewish Museum Vienna

The Jewish Museum Vienna is one of our absolute favourites, and I am sure you can imagine why. The museum gives an insight into Jewish history, culture, and religion, and it is also a place of encounters and interactions. Located in the Dorotheergasse, the museum documents Jewish history from mediaeval to present times.

In 1895 the first Jewish museum – worldwide – was founded in Vienna, sponsored by Viennese Jewish citizens. The main focus of their exhibitions was the Jewish history in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In 1938, the museum was closed by the Nazis. Their collections got transferred to other museums. And some parts of the collections were used for anti-Semitic propaganda.

It took till the 1990s for the objects to be restituted but a large number of objects were lost or have disappeared. The Jewish Museum of the City Vienna GmbH was founded in 1988 and the first exhibition opened in 1990. The Palais Eskeles in Dorotheergasse 11 was designated as the museum’s future location.

The multi-storey museum has permanent exhibitions such as the one called “Our City! Jewish Vienna – Then to Now” or “Our Medieval City! The first Jewish Community in Vienna” but also temporary exhibitions such as “The Vienna Rothschilds. A Thriller” or “Without a Home: Kindertransports from Vienna”.

For more information about the museum visit https://www.jmw.at/en