Josephinum

About the museum

The Josephinum was founded in 1785 as a military medical academy, which Emperor Joseph II had established to improve the training of surgeons. The building on Währinger Straße was designed by court architect Isidore Canevale on the model of a Parisian town palace; it is regarded as the principal work of Viennese neoclassicism and as a testimony of the Enlightenment in stone. Together with the General Hospital and the Narrenturm, it shaped the medical quarter in what is now Alsergrund.

The original teaching aids included the anatomical and obstetric wax models that the emperor had made in Florence. They have survived to this day in their historic display cases and form the best-known ensemble of the house.

Today the Josephinum manages the historical collections of the Medical University of Vienna – instruments, paintings, manuscripts and books from over 650 years of faculty history. After a general renovation lasting around four years, the museum reopened in 2022; in the process, the semicircular lecture hall with its wall paintings from the founding period was also uncovered again.

On the upper floor, the permanent exhibition shows the wax models and the history of the academy; on the ground floor, it shows the development of Viennese medicine from the 19th century through the Nazi era to the high-tech medicine of the present.

Highlights

• Anatomical wax models from Florence in their historic arrangement
• The world’s first endoscope (Bozzini, 1806)
• Brambilla’s collection of surgical instruments
• Historic lecture hall of 1785 with uncovered wall paintings
• Documents ranging from Sigmund Freud to the assassination of Empress Elisabeth

Permanent exhibitions

• Anatomische Wachsmodelle – On the first floor stand the wax models of the human body made in Florence in their original display cases, complemented by the history of the academy in the 18th century.
• Medizin in Wien seit dem 19. Jahrhundert – The ground floor combines open storage and exhibition: instruments, paintings and documents tell of the Viennese Medical Schools, the Nazi era and today’s bioethical questions.

Operated by

Josephinum – Medizinische Sammlungen GmbH (Medizinische Universität Wien)

Director

Christiane Druml

Admission & discounts

20% discount for members of Ö1-Club and ÖAMTC, with the Vienna City Card and for the Alumni Club of the MedUni Vienna. Free admission with the Vienna Pass, Niederösterreich-CARD and Kulturpass, for ICOM members and members of the friends’ association. Discount only with valid ID; tickets at the museum ticket office, card payment possible.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

Step-free main entrance; all exhibition rooms are accessible by a lift (140 cm wide) (information according to Wien Tourismus).

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

• Lockers

Backpacks and large bags must be stored in the lockers during your visit.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Corporate events

Up to 150 guests.

The historic lecture hall (up to 150 seats in theatre-style seating) and the historic reading room can be rented for receptions, symposia, gala evenings or workshops; catering of your choice.

Plan your visit