Naturhistorisches Museum Wien
Museum of Natural History Vienna
The Naturhistorisches Museum is the twin of the Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien
and mirrors the building in Italian-like neo-Renaissance style. The impressive court was designed by
Gottfried Semper and Karl Freiherr of Hasenauer and built between
1872 and 1891. If there was a museum of museums - I love this idea - the Naturhistorisches Museum would
be one of the most prominent
items on display.
Until a few years ago, little had changed since the opening in 1889: Most of the exhibition consisted
of stuffed animals on bad-hair-days, German labels in 19th century fonts and the
original boxes that hold pieces of dead animals and plants. The World's largest
collection of meteorites was presented in the least imaginative way possible and the
"former crown lands" were still referred to as if they were part of the Empire.
Visitors had to ignore that
Galicia and Bessarabia are part of the Ukraine now, that Siebenbürgen has expelled its Germanic population half a century ago, changed its name and is part of Romania now, or that
Illyria has been part of half a dozen of different countries until it turned Croatian a few years ago. History? Rubbish, this is about
Natural History
- and so the Empire persisted. Who would dare to care whether a rock is Austrian, Bulgarian or Italian?
A re-vamped Museum: Back to State-of-the-Art
Personally, I was very fond of the old Natural History Museum with all its
dust and concentrated reasons for boredom.
In some sense unfortunately, this has been changed over the course of the past few years:
With the investments of vast amounts of money and a lot of dedication,
much of the collection was re-vamped and is now presented in a living, modern
and child-friendly manner.
Some galleries were preserved in their original states and only supplemented
with information on famous researchers that have worked for the museum - it is
these galleries where you can still experience the patina of the old Naturhistorisches. However, most of the museum can now be
compared to its
equivalents in other major cities in Europe and the US, whilst still
managing to resist the tackiness of
animated dinosaurs.
A mix of Old & New Attractions
Instead, a Vivarium was opened in the basement, which proved to be hugely
popular especially with the many children that now flock into the "new" Natural
History Museum. There is a model of ice-man Ötzi, ancient graves, an amazing collection of
fossils, lots of information in both German and English on the different parts of the exhibition and
hands-on exhibits especially for children.
The most famous piece of the museum's collection actually doesn't really fit into a museum of natural history.
The "Venus of Willendorf", a fat, naked woman
carved into a piece of limestone, is considered to belong to Austria's oldest pieces of art and was found in the
Wachau area in Lower Austria. It is a 25,000 year old piece of evidence that Austrians really are
obsessed with nudity. Other objects that a fascinating, but somewhat out of place belong to the exhibition on the
Hallstatt Culture. Jewellery, pottery and other pieces of craft of this Iron Age culture were found on a cemetery ("Gräberfeld") in Hallstatt in the
Salzkammergut.
Frequently, the museum is kissed by the 21st century when temporary exhibitions
add an aspect of the modern age to the Imperial site. You might have an opportunity to visit a
state-of-the-art exhibition on current issues of science and technology.
back to "vienna travel guide"
Sightseeing by Austrian Province
Bregenz and Vorarlberg -
Innsbruck and Tyrol -
Salzburg - Salzkammergut -
Graz and Styria -
Klagenfurt and Carinthia -
Wachau and Lower Austria -
Vienna - Burgenland
Further Reading
Top-Attractions & Where to Go in Vienna
More on Animals: Tiergarten Zoo Schönbrunn
Official Website
of the Naturhistorisches Museum Wien
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