Natural History Museum in Vienna

The Vienna Natural History Museum (German: Naturhistorisches Museum Wien) is a large natural history museum located in Vienna, Austria. The NHM Vienna is one of the largest museums and non-university research institutions in Austria and an important center of excellence for all matters relating to natural sciences. The museum’s 39 exhibition rooms cover 8,460 square meters and present more than 100,000 objects. It is home to 30 million objects available to more than 60 scientists and numerous guest researchers who carry out basic research in a wide range of topics related to human sciences, earth sciences, and life sciences. History The Imperial Natural History Museum or Imperial-Royal Natural History Court Museum of Austria-Hungary was created by (Kaiser) Emperor Franz Joseph I during an extensive reorganization of the museum collections, from 1851 to 1876, and opened to the public on August 10, 1889. Architecture The Natural History Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts were commissioned by Emperor Franz Joseph I (1830–1916) and designed by the architects Gottfried Semper (1803–1879) and Carl Hasenauer (1833–1894). The two museums have identical exteriors and face each other. They were originally designed to be part of a much larger project – an Imperial Forum – which was never realized in full. Work on the Natural History Museum lasted from 1871 until 1881. The Natural History Museum Vienna incorporates stylistic elements from many past periods, in particular the Renaissance. It is around 170 meters long and 70 meters wide, comprising two courtyards that are each surrounded by working and exhibition rooms. The roof is crowned with a 65 m dome bearing a huge bronze statue of the Greek sun god Helios, a symbol of the life-giving element without which nature would not exist. The upper and middle levels (mezzanine and first floor) of the intricately decorated facade display allegorical and mythological figures representing key elements of the universe and its discovery and understanding by man. The 100 square-metre ceiling painting above the grand staircase depicts the “Circle of Life”. Hans Canon (1829–1885) had the freedom to choose his subject and painted a dramatic allegory of the rise and decline of humanity. In addition, humankind serving as the central theme of this painting further fulfills Hochstetter’s concept. The cycle of growing and passing away in human existence is presented in a circular composition. It reflects the idea of the fight for existence, which dominated scientific thought at that time. Exhibition area In 39 display halls with an area of 8,700 m² the collections give an overview of the diversity of life on Earth. The order of the halls is based on the classification values of the 19th century: humans as the “apex of creation” were originally presented in a large part of the mezzanine with anthropology, ethnology, and prehistory. List of halls: Hall 1-4: Minerals, Gemstones, Rocks Hall 5: Meteorites Halls 6-9: Earth History Hall 10: Dinosaurs Halls 11-13: Prehistory Halls 14-15: Anthropology Hall 16: Ice Age Children and their World Hall 21: New Perspectives Halls 27-28: Amphibians, Reptiles Hall 24: Crustaceans, Spiders, Insects Halls 33-39: Mammals Opening hours Thursday-Monday: 9 a.m. – 6.00 p.m. Wednesday: 9 a.m. – 8 p.m. Tuesday: closed Last entrance half an hour before closing time. Prices Adults: €18.00 Reduced (students, pensioners…): €14.00 Children (under 19): free How to get to? Near the Heldentor Royal Gate, there’s the Burgring tram stop (lines 1, 2, 71, and D). The Museumsquartier U2 station is an eight-minute walk away. The Michaelerplatz bus stop, served by lines 1A and 2A, is also a five-minute walk away. Address: Burgring 7, 1010 Wien, Austria Coordinates: 48°12’18.3″N 16°21’34.0″E See also France travel guide Spain travel guide Catalonia travel guide Pyrenees travel guideThe post Natural History Museum in Vienna first appeared on All PYRENEES.