JEWISH MUSEUM VIENNA (JÜDISCHES MUSEUM)

Divided into two sites - Dorotheergasse and Judenplatz - the Vienna Jewish Museum provides a comprehensive overview of the history of Viennese Jewry 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 reflects the local history of the Jewish community. The Jewish Museum's collections are displayed on 3 levels. After a glimpse of the present on the 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", 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 quickly became the third largest Jewish community in Europe. The Atelier, on the third floor, serves as an exhibition room for both religious and everyday objects. In addition to its permanent exhibition, the museum organizes temporary exhibitions on the second floor, combining the city's Jewish history with global cultural and socio-historical issues. Until September 2024, these include "Who cares? Jewish responses to suffering". Numerous cultural events, seminars, meetings and shows are also scheduled... A lively venue committed to tolerance. Appreciated by the local Jewish community, which numbers some 8,000 members enjoying complete freedom of worship and citizenship.

For pleasure, stop off at the Eskeles 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 check out the Judenplatz antenna, less than 10 minutes away on foot. Your entrance ticket is valid for 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 it's worth remembering that in the Middle Ages, this district was the epicenter of Viennese Jewish life.