Gesellschafts- und Wirtschaftsmuseum, Social and economic museum in Margareten, Vienna, Austria.
The Gesellschafts- und Wirtschaftsmuseum occupies a building erected in 1888 at Vogelsanggasse 36 in Margareten, forming the rear wing of the Stolberggasse 53 primary school built in 1887. Since 2015 an extension in the neighbouring new residential building at number 34a adds space. The affiliated Kaffeemuseum is housed next door at Vogelsanggasse 38.
Otto Neurath founded the museum in 1924 as the Museum für Siedlung und Städtebau, and it became the Gesellschafts- und Wirtschaftsmuseum in 1925 with backing from the city of Vienna, the Arbeiterkammer and social insurance. Dissolved under the Austrofascists in 1934, it was re-established in 1948 as the Österreichisches Gesellschafts- und Wirtschaftsmuseum.
The museum explores how people in Vienna work and live together, focusing on everyday topics like crafts, trade, and community life. This perspective appears throughout the objects and explanations, making the economic life of the city tangible to visitors.
The museum is at Vogelsanggasse 36 in Margareten, with an extension in the new residential building at number 34a since 2015. The Kaffeemuseum, attached since 2003, occupies the neighbouring house at Vogelsanggasse 38. The building, erected in 1888, forms the rear wing of the primary school at Stolberggasse 53.
The museum is known for developing a visual communication system that conveys information without words, transcending language barriers. This system later influenced design practices far beyond the museum itself.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 93,688 contributors worldwide.