World Museum Vienna

**World Museum Vienna**
Data
place	Neue Burg , Heldenplatz , 1010 Vienna
Art	Ethnological Museum
operator	Federal museums
Website	www.weltmuseumwien.at

The Weltmuseum Wien , previously the Museum of Ethnology , is an ethnological museum in the Vienna Hofburg . It contains collections from all continents. It also has a library, an archive and an important photo collection.

The Weltmuseum Wien is housed in the Corps de Logis of the Neue Burg (view before 1898)

history

Courtyard of the Corps de Logis, July 2009

Ethnographic collections of the Habsburg monarchy

Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his companion in front of the Fujiya Hotel in Miyanoshita, August 1893 (from the photo album of the Este Collection)

Ethnographic objects were already being collected in the so-called art and curiosity chambers in the 16th century . Significant pieces, such as a feather crown from the time of Montezuma , were found in the “ Ambras Collection” of Archduke Ferdinand II of Tyrol , which was moved to Vienna during the Napoleonic Wars .

The collection grew mainly through expeditions and trips undertaken in the 18th and 19th centuries, for example by the circumnavigator James Cook (1728–1779) ( Emperor Franz I had objects auctioned in London at the beginning of the 19th century), the naturalist Johann Natterer ( Austrian expedition to Brazil 1817–1836) and the Austrian frigate “Novara” .

From 1876 the holdings of the anthropological- ethnographic department of the " kk Naturhistorisches Hofmuseum ", the later Natural History Museum, were taken over. This also included the collection of the Austrian heir to the throne, Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Este , who had traveled around the world in 1892/93. It alone comprises around 14,000 objects.

Museum of Ethnology

Finally, on May 25, 1928, the opening of a separate “Museum of Ethnology” in the Corps de Logis of the Neue Burg, originally planned as a residential wing . In the post-war period, decisive renovations were carried out. This made it possible to expand the program, which was characterized by numerous temporary exhibitions . Schloss Matzen and Kartause Gaming acted as branches of the museum.

Renovation phases

Numerous renovations were carried out in the 1990s and 2000s. For example, the basement rooms were converted into depots, which now house the museum's collections. In 2001 the museum became part of the KHM Museum Association as part of the spin-off of the federal museums. Due to further work on the building, the house had to be closed from 2004 to 2007. After extensive renovation, the museum was reopened in May 2007 with a large Benin exhibition. However, this only applied to special exhibitions. The permanent exhibition had not been open to the public since 2001.

World Museum Vienna

In April 2013 the museum was renamed Weltmuseum Wien .

From November 2014 the museum was closed for renovations. For financial reasons, Minister of Culture Josef Ostermayer asked for the redesign to be redimensioned. In January 2015 it was announced that the World Museum should be reduced to 3900 square meters of exhibition space. At the same time, a house of history with around 3000 square meters of exhibition space was to be created. The Weltmuseum Wien reopened on October 25, 2017 with an open air event designed by Andre Heller on Heldenplatz.

Collection focus

The museum owns over 250,000 ethnographic objects, over 140,000 historical photographs and 146,000 printed matter on the culture and history of non-European peoples. In addition to Cook's collection, with objects from Oceania and North America , there are pre-Columbian feather works such as the last existing feather crown from the time of Montezuma, the large collection of Johann Natterer from the Austrian expedition to Brazil , bronzes from the West African kingdom of Benin and around 14,000 objects, the heir to the throne Franz Ferdinand collected on his world tour.

The Weltmuseum Wien houses nine collections:

Africa southern of the Sahara
North Africa, Middle East, Central Asia and Siberia
East Asia: Korea, China, Japan
South, SE Asia, Himalaya
Insular Southeast Asia
South America
Oceania and Australia
North and Central America
Photo collection

management

General director of the Kunsthistorisches Museum with Museum für Völkerkunde and Austrian Theater Museum has been Sabine Haag since the beginning of 2009 . From 2010, after Christian Feest left , she also led the Museum für Völkerkunde on an interim basis. On May 1, 2012, the Dutchman Steven Engelsman became director of the museum. On January 1, 2018, Christian Schicklgruber succeeded him in this role.

Head since 1928:

Fritz Röck: 1928–1945
Robert Bleichsteiner : 1945–1953
Leopold Schmidt : 1954–1955 (acting head)
Etta Becker-Donner : 1955–1975
Hans Manndorff: 1976-1993
Armand Duchateau: 1993–1994 (interim management)
Peter Kann: 1994-2002
Gabriele Weiss: 2002–2004 (interim management)
Christian Feest : 2004–2010
Sabine Haag : 2010–2012 (represented by Barbara Plankensteiner)
Steven Engelsman: 2012-2017
Christian Schicklgruber: since 2018

gallery

Stupa and Prajnaparamita, Mongolia, 18th century
Mukudj mask from Gabon, 19th century
Head of Xipe Totec , Mexico, around 1500 AD

Movies

Museum check with Markus Brock : Weltmuseum Wien. Synopsis and video from 3sat. First broadcast: July 8, 2018

literature

Museum für Völkerkunde in Wien (Ed.): The Museum für Völkerkunde in Wien . Residence, Salzburg / Vienna 1980, ISBN 3-7017-0260-8 .
Wilhelm P. Bauer (Ed.): Museum for Ethnology Vienna . Westermann, Braunschweig 1980.
Peter Linimayr: Viennese ethnology in National Socialism . Lang, Frankfurt am Main 1994, ISBN 3-631-46736-2 .