The Weltmuseum Wien is one of the leading ethnographic museums in the world. First established in 1806 as part of the Imperial Natural History Cabinet, after the partial acquisition of the “James Cook Collection”, it continuously grew and became an independent museum in 1928. Today it houses various collections, from ethnographic treasures and historical photographs, books on non-European civilizations, pre-Columbian and colonial feather artifacts, treasures from Mexico, or examples of African-Portuguese ivory carving and much more.
The gallery of the breathtaking Hall of Columns also provides access to two collections of the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna. The Imperial Armoury is packed full of magnificent suits of armour and decorative weapons that attest to chivalric values and important occasions at court. The Collection of Historic Musical Instruments comprises the original instruments of some of the world’s greatest composers such as Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven.
