Museums in Vienna

Although we have nothing against the big places that you absolutely have to see, this time we present five smaller, thematically perhaps somewhat strange candidates. Curtain up for the most bizarre museums in Vienna!

Most of the museums are open every day, but many of them are closed one day a week. Often Monday or Tuesday. The opening hours vary from museum to museum, but in general you can assume that they are open between 10.00 and 17.00. Some of the major museums offer their art lovers one long evening a week and extend their opening hours to 20.00 or 21.00. On special occasions, such as the national holiday (26 October), admission to the federal museums is free. And Vienna is of course one of the world's centers for art (- and science museums). We owe this to the Habsburgs, who with their collections laid the first foundations for the museums that exist today, especially with the Kunst- und Naturhistorisches Museum on the magnificent Ringstrasse. But a lot has happened since then. Many wealthy citizens of the Monarchy have bequeathed their collections to the state or placed them in private foundations and made them accessible to the public.

A sad chapter is the so-called "Aryanization" of numerous works of art during the period of National Socialism. Rich Jewish families were "bought off" their collections - if at all - at ridiculous prices. When there was still the possibility to leave their homeland "voluntarily", Jewish refugees had to leave all their belongings behind. Thus many masterpieces came into the possession of the Republic - or private collectors. Unfortunately, not all of the rightful owners have been compensated or their possessions returned, and so it can be assumed that more works of art of dubious origin are stored in the galleries of Austrian museums or back rooms.