Museum of Natural History Vienna

The Natural History Museum in Vienna (NHM) is one of the most significant natural history museums in the world, with around 30 million collection pieces. It is also one of Austria’s largest museums.

The Natural History Museum Vienna, located in the center of Vienna, is a tribute to the natural world’s wonders. This institution, with its extensive collection of fossils and artifacts, provides a mesmerizing voyage through time, encouraging visitors to dig into the depths of Earth’s past. The museum offers a thorough investigation of our planet’s extraordinary past, spanning several disciplines ranging from paleontology to mineralogy.

The Natural History Museum in Vienna is an architectural marvel that mixes neoclassical and contemporary design features. Its grandiose façade, embellished with elaborate decorations and graceful columns, attests to the museum’s magnificence. When guests enter, they are met by a stunning combination of creativity and scientific rigor.

The paleontological collection at the museum is a joy for both enthusiasts and casual visitors. It displays an amazing collection of fossils, some dating back millions of years. Immerse yourself in the amazing world of dinosaurs by admiring the beautifully rebuilt skeletons of the ferocious T. rex or the long-necked Brachiosaurus. Witness the astonishing alterations that have happened over ages as you explore the development of life on Earth.

Mineralogy takes center stage at the Natural History Museum Vienna, exhibiting the astounding diversity of Earth’s geological treasures. This collection demonstrates the tremendous beauty and intricacy that lie beneath our feet, from the vivid colors of diamonds to the intricate crystal formations. Admire the exquisite patterns of a crystalline geode or gaze in amazement at the beautiful centerpiece, a fascinating big topaz.

The Venus of Willendorf, a modest but powerful emblem of ancient fertility, is one of the museum’s attractions. This legendary figure, created some 25,000 years ago, has captured the imagination of generations. Its rich intricacies and ageless appeal remind us of our forefathers and the ongoing mysteries of human existence.

For those interested in astronomy, the Planetarium at the Natural History Museum, Vienna provides an enthralling tour through the cosmos. Gaze up at the sky and let the unique audiovisual experience take you to faraway galaxies. Discover the most recent astronomical discoveries and broaden your understanding of the cosmos we live in.

While the Natural History Museum Vienna is unquestionably a repository of scientific information, it also acts as a center for research and teaching. Scholars from all around the globe come to examine the rich collections, which contribute to our understanding of the natural world. The museum also organizes a range of seminars, lectures, and interactive displays, allowing visitors of all ages to learn and explore in an engaging environment.

The museum has a variety of cutting-edge amenities to enhance the tourist experience. The interactive exhibits transport visitors across time and space, bringing the exhibitions to life. The museum also has a library and archives with a large collection of scientific books and historical records.

The museum’s café offers a calm refuge amidst the investigation for those in need of a break. Enjoy a cup of Viennese coffee or a scrumptious pastry while soaking in the atmosphere of this cultural center.

The Natural History Museum Vienna, is not just a portal to the past, but also a celebration of our planet’s incredible diversity and beauty. It creates a profound respect for the natural world and evokes a feeling of wonder and curiosity in its visitors via engaging displays and educational events.

The Natural History Museum Vienna promises a riveting voyage through time and space, whether you are a seasoned scientist, an ambitious adventurer, or simply a curious individual. Immerse yourself in Earth’s previous wonders, and let the awe-inspiring exhibitions leave an unforgettable impact on your comprehension of our planet’s fascinating history.

Exhibition area

The exhibits provide an overview of the diversity of life on Earth in 39 display halls covering an area of 8,700 m2. The arrangement of the halls is based on 19th-century categorization values: humans as the “apex of creation” were initially shown in a significant portion of the mezzanine with anthropology, ethnology, and prehistory.

The visitor would be led from the “most simple” to the “most consummate evolutionary animals” on the first floor. As a result, the apes, as primates’ representatives, are discovered near the end of the journey.

This systematic notion of the collections has survived until the current day, even if evolution is no longer viewed as progress toward perfection, but rather progress toward variety.

The display rooms’ furniture, with dark, carved wood display cases, are primarily originals from the museum’s early days, based on Ferdinand von Hochstetter’s ideas.

This historical presentation of the collections is nearly unique in today’s globe.

More than 100 oil paintings and drawings adorn the mezzanine, which complement the exhibits on show in the rooms. Figures are also used to adorn some of the hallways.

The interaction of decorating and exhibit artifacts offers the Natural History Museum Vienna a one-of-a-kind creative presentation.

The exhibitions on mezzanine level:

Halls 1–4: Mineralogy & Petrography
Hall 5: Meteorites
Halls 6–10: Paleontology
Halls 11–13: Prehistory Halls 14–15: Anthropology

The huge public exhibitions in halls I-V showcase both aesthetically and scientifically valuable minerals, ores, jewels, rocks (including ornamental and construction stones), as well as meteorites and impactites (including tektites) acquired over the course of more than 500 years. Every object is organized in a logical manner, and new things are added each year. Individual halls may also host special temporary exhibitions.

The systematic mineral exhibit is displayed in the first four halls. Large mineral samples (in a glass case in the middle of the room), a collection of building materials (samples), and the first section of the systematic mineral exhibit are all found in Hall I. Sulphides, halogenides, oxides, hydroxides, nitrates, iodates, and carbonates continue in Hall II, while carbonates, borates, sulfates, chromates, phosphates, arsenates, and vanadates are found in Hall III.

In Hall IV, you may see phosphotes, arsenates and silicates, jewels, and the rock collection. This hall also houses a collection of diamonds and valuable stones. This is one of the most complete and important collections of its sort on the European continent. One cabinet houses substantial specimens of most of today’s well-known jewelry materials, with raw material and half-finished stones coexisting with finished cut and polished stones and original jewelry. Larger examples of the precious stone collection are kept in two side cabinets.Hall IV has the original rhinestone replica of the famed Florentine Diamond.

Architecture

The Natural History Museum Vienna contains aesthetic influences from a variety of historical eras, most notably the Renaissance. The building’s construction began in 1871, and the facade was completed in 1881. It is approximately 170 meters long and 70 meters broad, with two courtyards encircled by working and display spaces. The roof is surmounted by a 65-meter-high dome containing a massive bronze figure of the Greek sun god Helios, a symbol of the life-giving element without which nature would not exist. The top and middle levels of the artistically adorned facade (mezzanine and first floor) depict allegorical and mythical figures reflecting fundamental aspects of the cosmos and man’s discovery and knowledge of them. Visitors may witness statues of notable academics and scientists on the railing, which depict the ongoing advancement of human knowledge. These essential themes also serve as the inspiration for the sculptures and paintings in the Dome Hall and the grand staircase, with Hans Canon’s ceiling fresco, The Circle of Life, standing out.

The inside structure of the building is determined by the exhibition’s and individual departments’ methodical arrangement. The mezzanine contains exhibits on inanimate nature (Department of Mineralogy, Halls 1-5), sediments and traces of early life on Earth (Department of Geology & Paleontology, Halls 6-10), early human history (Department of Prehistory, Halls 11-13), and human development (Department of Anthropology, Halls 14-15). The first level showcases the incredible diversity of the animal world (Zoological Departments, Halls 22-39) as well as the intriguing domain of the Earth’s tiniest organisms (“Microtheater”, Hall 21). The exhibits are arranged in a systematic sequence based on how closely they are connected to one another or their chronological place in the history of Planet Earth or humans.

The 100-square-meter ceiling mural above the grand staircase shows “The Cycle of Life.”Hans Canon (1829-1885) was given the freedom to pick his topic and created a dramatic allegory of humanity’s rise and fall. Furthermore, the major element of this picture, humanity, further satisfies Hochstetter’s notion.

A circle arrangement depicts the cycle of human existence of growing and dying. It represents the theme of survival that dominated scientific thought at the time. At the same time, the animal world was drawn into the cycle: on one side, “mankind made the Earth its servant” (it captures a catfish with its trident); on the other, nature triumphs (a vulture watches its prey). Nonetheless, humanity is central to these events: a man draped in a scarlet cloak holds an hourglass (probably an homage to Chronos, the god of time).

History

The Natural History Museum Vienna’s history is influenced by renowned kings’ enthusiasm for collecting, prominent scientists’ insatiable hunger for knowledge, and the spirit of adventure of traveling explorers. In the spirit of the inscription etched onto the facade of the museum, scientists at the NHM Vienna have committed themselves and their work “to the realm of nature and its exploration” over the years.

While this was reflected in the nineteenth century through huge imperial research missions to little-known corners of the Earth, it can now be found in contemporary DNA analysis tools and meteorite studies, which provide insights into new worlds and the outer extremities of our universe.

The Natural History Museum Vienna’s earliest collections extend back more than 250 years. The Holy Roman Emperor Francis I, Maria Theresa’s spouse, bought the world’s biggest and most famous collection of natural history artefacts from Florentine scholar and scientist Jean de Baillou in 1750. This was the first step in establishing the Natural History Museum Vienna.

Baillou’s collection included rare fossils, snails, mussels, and corals, as well as expensive minerals and precious stones.

Emperor Francis, who established the Schönbrunn zoo and botanical garden in 1752 and 1753, also conducted the first scientific abroad journey. In 1755, he sent Nicolaus Joseph Jacquin to the Caribbean, the Antilles, Venezuela, and Colombia. Jacquin returned from this excursion with numerous live animals and plants for the zoo and botanical garden, as well as 67 cases filled with other natural world treasures.

Following the Emperor’s death, Maria Theresa donated the natural science collection to the state and made it available to the public. As a result, she established the first museum in accordance with the ideas and goals of the Enlightenment.

Maria Theresa was the one who introduced the eminent mineralogist Ignaz von Born to Vienna. Born was charged with cataloguing and growing the collections after inventing a novel way of obtaining valuable metals. To that purpose, he had minerals from all over the world sent to Vienna and added to the collection. The cabinet of natural history, led by Ignaz von Born, swiftly evolved into a focus of practical research.

Vienna, Austria