The Jewish Museum Vienna is a place of encounter, debate and understanding, where awareness of Jewish history, religion and culture is created. At its two locations in Palais Eskeles on Dorotheergasse and Judenplatz, the museum documents the former dimension and intensity of Viennese Jewish life before the Shoah but also provides insight into a Jewish present that has enlivened Vienna in recent decades. In its temporary exhibitions, the museum combines Jewish urban history with global cultural and social-historical themes as well as contemporary art.
The permanent exhibition "Our City! Jewish Vienna - Then to Now" at Palais Eskeles is dedicated to the Jewish history of Vienna from the Middle Ages to the present. The show depot provides insight into the worldwide unique collections of Judaica, cult objects, works of art and memorabilia from Viennese and Austrian synagogues and prayer houses. An innovative computer program enables a virtual tour of the destroyed Viennese synagogues.
The Museum Judenplatz was opened in 2000 as the second location of the Jewish Museum Vienna. The special significance of Judenplatz, where the center of Jewish life was located in the Middle Ages, is demonstrated by the museum's permanent exhibition on Viennese Jewry in the Middle Ages. In addition, the underground museum rooms contain the foundations of the medieval synagogue and selected excavation finds.
