Jewish Museum Vienna: History, Culture, and Memory

The first Jewish Museum in Vienna was founded in 1893 by the 'Society for the Collection and Preservation of Artistic and Historical Memorials of Jewry', becoming the world's first museum of its kind. It focused on Jewish culture and history within the Austro-Hungarian Empire and also collected items related to Zionism.

The first Jewish Museum in Vienna opened its doors in 1895, focusing on the culture and history of Jews in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Its collection also included objects from the British Mandate of Palestine, reflecting contemporary political debates.

By 1913, the museum had moved premises several times, relocating into the Talmud-Thora-School in Leopoldstadt. At this point, its collection had grown to include 3,400 objects.

Following the Anschluss by Nazi Germany in 1938, the museum was closed. Its collection was subsequently distributed among the Museum of Ethnology and the Natural History Museum, with the latter using acquisitions for an anti-Semitic exhibition.

In the early 1950s, the majority of the museum's stock that had been confiscated during the Nazi era was restituted to the Jewish community of Vienna (Israelitische Kultusgemeinde Wien). Additional objects were returned in the 1990s.

On December 31, 1964, a small Jewish museum was opened in the newly constructed Desider-Friedmann-Hof in Tempelgasse. However, it received little public attention and later closed for renovations.

The small Jewish museum opened in 1964 closed for renovation work in 1967 and was subsequently never reopened, marking the end of that iteration of the museum.

In 1986, the establishment of a new Jewish museum in Vienna was announced by the then mayor Helmut Zilk in New York. A foundation committee was formed with representatives from Austrian state, the city of Vienna, the Jewish Community, and the Vienna Philharmonic.

The Jewish Museum Vienna was established in 1988 as a limited company under the management of director Christian Cap. The museum took on the management of the Max Berger Collection and the IKG Collection.

In 1993, Austrian collector Martin Schlaff presented his collection of approximately 5,000 antisemitic objects, dating from 1490 to 1946, to the city of Vienna for cataloguing and exhibition.

In 1993, the Palais Eskeles in Dorotheergasse was put at the disposal of the museum by the auction house Dorotheum. Julius H. Schoeps was appointed director.

On November 24, 1994, the museum library was opened by Paul Grosz, president of the Israelitische Kultusgemeinde Wien, at the Palais Eskeles location.

Between 1995 and 1996, the Palais Eskeles was adapted by architects eichinger oder knechtl to create more display spaces, increase storage, and add a coffee house and specialist bookshop.

On October 25, 2000, the second building of the museum was opened in Judenplatz, coinciding with the unveiling of the Judenplatz Holocaust Memorial to Austrian Jews murdered in the Holocaust.

Following the appointment of Danielle Spera as director in July 2010, the renovation of the Dorotheergasse premises was made a priority to accommodate a new public-facing direction for the museum.

The renovation of the Dorotheergasse building took place between January and October 2011. It involved a complete technical overhaul of the infrastructure and changes to layout and visitor facilities.

On October 19, 2011, the museum reopened to the public after its renovation. The event drew significant public interest, with temporary exhibitions like 'Bigger than life - 100 years of Hollywood' proving popular.

As part of the 2011 renovation, the museum's facade was refreshed. A large light installation by artist Brigitte Kowanz, featuring the word 'museum' in Hebrew script, was added to make the building's purpose more prominent.

The Visible Storage area ('Schaudepot') on the third floor was completely redesigned as part of the renovation. It now highlights individual objects from the Judaica collection, including prayer houses, synagogues, and items from before and after 1938.

After three years of preparation, the museum launched its permanent exhibition 'Our City! Jewish Vienna – Then to Now' in November 2013. The exhibition focuses on the history of Vienna's Jews, with an emphasis on the period from 1945 to the present day.