VIENNA JEWISH MUSEUM (JÜDISCHES MUSEUM WIEN)

Divided into two neighboring sites - Dorotheergasse and Judenplatz - Vienna's Jewish Museum is a must-see, offering a comprehensive overview of Viennese Jewish history from the Middle Ages to the present day. On the Dorotheergasse site, the Jewish Museum occupies the former Eskeles Palace and presents the permanent exhibition "Unsere Stadt!" (Our City!), which gives an explicit and fascinating account of the local history of the Jewish community. The Jewish Museum's collections are displayed on three levels. After the space dedicated to the present on the building's first floor, the second floor plunges visitors into Vienna's great Jewish history from the Middle Ages to the Holocaust. It questions Emperor Joseph II's policy of "tolerance", and shows the creative and optimistic strategies of a Jewish community that was only allowed to live, work and practice its faith in complete freedom in 1852, but soon became the third-largest Jewish community in Europe. The Schaudepot, on the third floor, displays both religious and everyday objects. In addition, there are temporary exhibitions associating the city's Jewish history with global cultural and socio-historical issues, and a program of cultural events, seminars, meetings, shows... This lively venue, resolutely committed to tolerance, is much appreciated by the local Jewish community, which today numbers some 8,000 members enjoying complete freedom of worship and citizenship. In view of the current situation in Gaza, the entrance is guarded by military personnel.

For pleasure, stop off at the Café Taïm café-restaurant, on the first floor, which opens onto the street. For a drink, a snack or a meal. Everything is delicious! See our review in the restaurant section.

And to complete your visit, you'll want to explore the Judenplatz branch, a ten-minute walk away. Your entrance ticket gives you access to both sites. Judenplatz is home to Rachel Whiteread's Holocaust memorial. Inscriptions on the flagstones surrounding this memorial mention the sites where Austrian Jews met their deaths under the Nazi regime. The foundations of the once medieval synagogue and excavation finds are on display in the museum's basement. And we discover that even in the Middle Ages, this district was the epicenter of Viennese Jewish life.