Late Night of Jewish Museum in Vienna

Heurige Weingut, Kahlenberger Straße, 
between Kahlenberg and Nußdorf

When I visited Vienna last October, I participated a wonderful event - ORF-Lange Nacht der Museen (Long Night of the Museums) which allowed patrons visit 122 museums until 1.00 am in the morning.  The "Lange Nacht" ticket cost €13.00 and granted access to all participating museums, and also included use of the shuttle buses, which plied between selected museums. The ticket was also valid for use on public transport services in Vienna. The event took place on the night of 6 October.  That day was a long day for me - we went to morning market, canal, a vineyard in Kahlenberg and Nußdorf, suburbs of Vienna, then a magnificent concert at the glorious Musikverein.


Großer Saal, Musikverein

After the concert and a wonderful Italian dinner near the Staatsoper, we decided to continue our long day, with our gracious hosts, to one of those 120 museums - Jüdisches Museum (Jewish Museum)

Many museums were quite crowded, such as this Schmetterlinghaus (Butterfly House) at Hofburg below:


Schmetterlinghaus

Mercifully, the Jewish Museum was less crowded though hardly deserted.  This museum was not very big, had a mixture of artifacts recording Jewish people's daily life and religious services in Vienna and Austria -  Vienna and the World: The Jewish Museum Visible Storage, a collection of contemporary art by Jewish artist or on Jewish theme, and a special exhibit “Vienna. Jewish Museum. 21st Century”.



All the exhibitions in the modest-sized museums were fascinating, particularly those family records and writings - letters, diaries, etc. were of great interest; no precious metals and stones could compete with them for the sediment of history those records had accumulated through tears, sweats, and blood.  But this is not mean to slight the amazing artifacts collected there - from solemn to witty, from humble to haunting, all steeped in enviable long tradition and manifested incredible beauty.  To the museum's credit, they also displayed some artifacts demonstrated prejudice against Jewish people in the region and served as a somber reminder of the ugly past took place in this beautiful land.









This museum visit was unforgettable; however, in this modern interior, one couldn't help but feeling that the history recorded there were somewhat pale and less vivid, and more manicured.  For a more down to earth experience of ancient and contemporary Jewish life, my trip to the Jewish Ghetto in Venice two weeks later provided the answer and I'll report it soon, hopefully.



Related posts on Art · 文化 · Kunst: 
- Il Ghetto di Venezia and Museo Ebraico (Jewish Museum) in Venice
- Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele in Wien (Vienna)
- Theater Experiences in Wien (Vienna) 
- Magnificent Churches in Vienna

- My Favorite "Sculptures" at the Imperial Crypt (Kapuzinergruft), Vienna

- Kaiser Maximilian I und die Kunst der Duerer-Zeit in Albertina Museum, Vienna

Label: Austria, Austria and Italy Trip 2012