Austrian Museum of Folk Life and Folk Art

The Austrian Museum of Folklore (Volkskundemuseum Wien) is Austria’s largest folklore museum and is housed in the Schönborn Garden Palace at Laudongasse 15-19 in the 8th district.

Since its inception in 1895, the museum has been financed by the Association for Folklore, which was founded a year before.The Austrian Journal for Folklore is published every six months by the organization, which is a member of the organization of Austrian Scientific Societies.The operations of the museum, as well as a substantial portion of its employees, are supported by public grants from the Austrian Federal Chancellery.The long-overdue building repair was finally funded for in 2021.From autumn 2024 until mid-2027, the building will be refurbished.

The collections’ primary holdings date from the time of the Habsburg monarchy, although the inventory also contains items from other European nations (for example, the Eugenie Goldstern Collection).Today’s catalog contains over 150,000 three-dimensional items, as well as over 200,000 pictures and graphics.

The museum has a large specialized library for folklore, European ethnology, and related topics.This consists of around 100,000 volumes.

On the ground level of the museum, there is a permanent exhibit collection.For some time, there has also been the “In the Passage” format on the ground floor in the entry area, in which tiny exhibits with somewhat unusual artifacts from the collections are presented in small showcases (e.g. lucky charms, Easter eggs, keys, cups, presents, etc.). On the first level, special exhibitions and activities are held.