The Vienna Museum of Natural History (Vienna National History Museum) is one of the most comprehensive natural history museums in Europe. There are dozens of galleries and thousands of objects in each gallery. The exhibition category consists mostly of animals that lived in the past and whose fossils have been found. But there are also precious metals among them. It is a very important and excellent museum that can benefit both adults and children.
There are 39 different exhibition halls in the museum, and as I mentioned, each of them contains hundreds of historical artifacts that you will find in very few places in the world. You will find archeological artifacts, zoology, geology, mineralogy and even anthropology. In the 1750s, Jean de Baillou, a Florentine scientist, sold the world’s largest natural history collection to Franz Stephan I, then emperor and husband of Maria Theresa.
The foundations of today’s museum were laid with the purchase of this collection of fossils, snails, mussels, precious stones and minerals. Franz I, who later opened the Schönbrunn Zoo and the botanical garden, was interested in science and this interest in science was an important factor in bringing the museum to its current level.
The entrance hall of the museum looks very fascinating with large white statues, ornate walls, paintings painted on the walls, ornaments and reliefs. This was our favorite part of the museum from an architectural point of view.
The first five halls on the right after the entrance hall are the halls where minerals and stones are exhibited. You can see many stones formed during the evolution of the earth. The stones are exhibited in a certain order.
Other halls are dedicated to stones and minerals. Oxides, hydroxides, sulfides, carbohydrates and more. The fifth hall is a bit different, with the largest meteorite exhibition in the world. In this hall you can see stone and soil samples from the moon and Mars. Where will you see a piece of the moon and Mars again?
On the way to the dinosaur area in the tenth hall, we encounter fossils and skeletons of many different animals that lived in the past. The biggest spider in the world is also here. This spider lived 320 million years ago and its body length is 35 cm. It was found around today’s Argentina. Unbelievable.
The tenth hall is a hall of palontology, or fossilology. This is the most popular part of the museum, because dinosaurs are studied here. You can see replica skeletons of dinosaurs, Diplodocus Allosaurus and Iguanodon, one of the largest creatures on earth. The dinosaurs have teeth, tails, nails, horns and horns that can be frightening when looked closely. In addition to dinosaurs, you can also examine a huge mammoth, extinct with its baby, together with its feathers.
The five halls after the tenth hall are devoted to prehistoric life and the evolution of humanity. The focus here is on the lifestyles of prehistoric people, the way they hunted, their skull and dental structures.
The top floor is faster to complete than the first floor because it is entirely dedicated to stuffed animals. Predators, birds, reptiles, reptiles, sea creatures, butterflies, insects and crustaceans such as snails are all on display upstairs. Although some of the animals are unfortunately extinct, others are from species that are under protection to prevent extinction.
What are the entrance fee and visiting hours at the Natural History Museum Vienna?
Entrance to the museum costs €10 for adults, free with the Vienna Pass city card. The museum is closed on Tuesdays and open from 09:00 to 18:00 on other days, closing time is 21:00 on Wednesday only.
Where is the Natural History Museum Vienna and how to get there?
The Vienna Museum of Natural History is located in a very central location in Vienna, on the museum square. The Museumsplatz road separates it from the MuseumsQuartier, where the Mumok and Leopold Museum are located. The Vienna Museum of Art History and the Vienna Museum of Art History face each other from the sides of a large square, the one with the statue of Maria Theresien in the middle. It is also 130 meters from the old Parliament building. You can reach the museum using the subway lines U2 and U3, trams 1, 2, D, 46 and 49 and buses 2A and 48A.
