Jewish Museum Vienna, Jewish cultural museum in Innere Stadt, Austria.
The Jewish Museum Vienna operates across two locations: Palais Eskeles on Dorotheergasse and Misrachihaus on Judenplatz, each presenting collections related to Jewish history in the city. The exhibitions feature artwork, manuscripts, photographs, and documents spanning different time periods.
The first Jewish Museum in Vienna was founded in 1893 and opened on 1 November 1895, making it the world's first modern Jewish museum. It moved several times, including to the Talmud-Thora-Schule in 1911 with 3,400 objects. After the Anschluss in 1938 it was closed and its holdings were distributed among the Museum of Ethnology, the Natural History Museum and other repositories. A new museum was founded in 1988 and opened in the Palais Eskeles in 1993.
The museum's name appears in Hebrew letters projected onto the Palais Eskeles facade, a light installation by Brigitte Kowanz added in the 2011 renovation. Inside, the permanent exhibition "Our City! Jewish Vienna to the Present" begins in 1945 and traces the community's path from its destruction to today. At Judenplatz, temporary exhibitions by artists such as Zenita Komad are shown near the medieval synagogue remains.
A single ticket provides access to both locations and remains valid for four days, allowing visitors to plan their visits flexibly. The museum is open Sunday through Friday from 10:00 to 18:00.
At the Judenplatz location, visitors can see archaeological remains of a medieval synagogue destroyed in 1421. These underground foundations serve as a tangible reminder of Vienna's Jewish presence before this tragic period.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 93,650 contributors worldwide.