Editor Pick
Judisches Museum Wien
- January 24, 2007
- Rated 5 of 5 by
Mandan Lynn from Smithwick, South Dakota
Many central and eastern European cities play home to a Jewish museum, and Vienna is no exception. After visiting their museum, however, I doubt the others can meet this standard.
It was quiet on this particular winter day, so we could take our time and see the exhibits without having to fight through any crowds. Admission price included a free audio guide which gave so much information, I'm sure I didn't get through it all.
The first stop is the auditorium on the ground floor, which houses Max Berger's collection of Jewish objects. Berger was his family's only survivor of the Holocaust, and in order to understand his history and religion, he set about collecting items of Jewish interest—and ended up with more than 10,000, many of which he gave to the museum upon his death.
Many of these religious objects are displayed in a glass case, each with a number you can punch into your audio guide. The case is covered with quotes from the Torah or Jewish prayers: a purposeful distraction to help us remember that these aren't just objects on display, but that they have religious significance and are used by practicing Jews. I hadn't realized what a complete, in depth religion Judaism is.
The second floor displayed the Jewish-themed work of three Jewish artists. Each had his own brightly-colored room, all of which I had to hurry through because it was so cold in there. My favorite was the photograph of one of the artists and his mother, both of whom were holding the portraits that the artist had painted of them.
The third floor had lots of information about Felix Salten, the man who "invented" Bambi. There was also a fascinating hologram exhibit, which you can consume in no particular order. Each hologram is accompanied by a quote as well as lots of info on the audio guide. I loved this exhibit. My favorite quote was by Eduard Bernstein: "It's no big deal when your memory prefers to keep a hold on that which pleased you, and allows the past to seem more beautiful than it really was; and it is only fair when our desires and wishes in a vision of the future inspire us to fight for just that. But the present will only be seen for what it is."
There is also a coloring room for the kids!
The fourth floor is simply archives on display. It's sort of the collection they didn't have room for, but instead of boxing it away, they let us see it. It's cold up there, and I feel sorry for the attendant who sits alone and turns on the light when the occasional visitor journeys up there. Go if you have time, but know that it's more of what you have seen below.
I learned more about Judaism in this museum than I knew there was to know.
Jewish Museum Vienna
Open daily 10am-6pm
Admission: 5,00 euro (students €2,90)
From journal Happy New Year, Vienna!