Description of the attraction
The original Jewish Museum Vienna was founded in 1896 and was the first museum of its kind in the world. The museum was supported by the Society for the Collection and Preservation of Artistic and Historical Monuments of Jewry. He focused on the history and culture of the Jews in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. His collection of objects and artifacts from Palestine also reflected the political debate about Zionism. The museum was closed immediately after the occupation of Austria by the Nazis. In the last year of its existence, it had 6474 different exhibits. In 1939, they were transferred to the Museum of Ethnology and other institutions.
Most of the items were returned to the Jewish community in the early 1950s, but some were returned only in the 1990s. Many exhibits have been lost. When an inventory was taken of the New Jewish Museum, it turned out that half of the original items had disappeared. But the remaining things are very rare exhibits, representing both everyday objects and unique materials.
On December 31, 1964, a small Jewish museum opened in a newly built building on Tempelgasse, but received little public attention. After 3 years, the museum has already closed.
The first exhibition of the new Jewish Museum Vienna opened on 7 March 1990 in temporary premises in the offices of the Jewish community. Much of the exhibition has been compiled from the Max Berger collection. In 1992 the museum moved to its current home at the Esquels Palace in Dorotheegasse. The opening of the museum took place only a year later, in 1993. The library has been open to the public since 1994.
Since the fall of 2011, the museum has opened its doors after a complete reconstruction of both the building itself and the renovation of the permanent exhibition. After renovation, the Jewish Museum welcomes visitors with a new lighting installation, which was made in accordance with the original. Permanent exhibitions in the museum are located in three zones.
