Josephinum, Medical history museum in Alsergrund, Vienna, Austria
The Josephinum is a medical history museum housed in a former military academy building in Vienna. It displays over 1,200 anatomical wax models in rosewood cases with Venetian glass, along with historical medical instruments and teaching materials spanning several centuries.
Emperor Joseph II founded this institution in 1785 as a military academy to train physicians and midwives for service. The anatomical wax models were later brought from Florence to Vienna and became central to medical teaching in the academy.
The collection reflects how medical understanding evolved in Europe, with teaching aids that doctors and students once used to learn anatomy without access to cadavers. The objects on display show the respect for human study that shaped modern medicine.
The museum offers step-free access and wheelchair-friendly facilities throughout the building for all visitors. Guided tours in German help explain the historical objects and their original purpose in medical education.
The collection holds one of the world's largest collections of anatomical wax models, which were once carried by pack animals across the Alps from Florence to Vienna. This remarkable journey shows how valued these teaching aids were for medical education in the 1700s.
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