Josephinum

This 18th-century palais houses the Museum of the History of Medicine, which explores various aspects of the topic across the last three centuries.

• Intriguing and diverse displays
• Numerous objects, pictures and documents
• Including one or two of major historical significance
• What special exhibitions are on?
• Book a classical concert experience* in Vienna
• See also:
  • The Vienna Pass (gives one-time free entry)
  • Museums in Vienna

History of Medicine

(The front view; press photo © Josephinum / Reiner Riedler)

Joseph II (1741-1790) proved an unusually progressive Habsburg emperor, at least in the context of the times. For example, he promoted religious tolerance, eliminated serfdom, and introduced education reforms.

Our enlightened monarch also pursued a medical agenda that set Vienna on a course to becoming one of the great centres for medicine; a reputation that continues today.

For example, the main hospital (the AKH Wien) and the university clinics it runs together with the local medical university ranked 20th in Newsweek’s 2026 list of the world’s top 250 hospitals.

Joseph’s medical agenda included founding an imperial military academy for medicine and surgery that opened in 1785 in a purpose-built palais designed by Isidore Canevale.

This academy had an unpleasantly long formal title, which led to the use of a shorter alternative: the Josephinum. This name has survived through the decades both as a designation for the building itself and for the institution(s) within.

The rather lovely neoclassical palais now forms part of the aforementioned Medical University of Vienna and houses, for example, their historical collections. Fortunately for us, it also has a public Museum of the History of Medicine with both permanent and special exhibitions.

(One of the exhibition rooms. The object bottom centre is the file used to kill Empress Elisabeth; press photo © Josephinum / Reiner Riedler)

The Josephinum galleries present objects, pictures, and documents across several medical themes spanning various perspectives: technical, ethical, social and more.

Walking through the diverse topics and displays, you get a strong feel for the evolution of modern medicine and Vienna’s role within it. And many of the items build a visceral link to the past. For example:

• Handwritten notes by early radiologists, who themselves suffered from overexposure to ionising radiation

• An early 19th-century revolving drum for using smoke to clean letters suspected of being “infected” with cholera

• 1912 lecture notes in Jugendstil design

(The main lecture hall with its wall paintings; press photo © Josephinum / Reiner Riedler)

Several rooms present the 18th-century wax models of bodies and body parts used for medical teaching back in the early days of the Josephinum. All mounted in their gorgeous display cases.

This quite remarkable collection of models evokes different feelings. Awe at the craftmanship, for example: these must have represented an extraordinarily progressive resource at the time. A sense of the macabre, too: I’m not sure I’d want to hang around inside after the lights go out.

Particular museum highlights for me on my visit, though, were those items related to notable personalities. Two stood out in particular:

• The file used to assassinate Empress Elisabeth in Geneva in 1898

• The Seligmann Fragments, which possibly come from the skull of Beethoven (these have been on public display since 2023 but may not be a permanent element of the exhibition)

Oh…not forgetting the lovely main lecture room, of course, with its (sadly faded) original wall paintings of famous medical personalities of the past, such as Hippocrates.

Tickets, exhibitions & tips

Tickets are available on site and cost €15 for a standard adult at the time of writing.

Special exhibition schedule:

• Gustav Klimt and Medicine (March 26th to June 28th, 2026): original works from public and private collections that illustrate how the artist’s understanding of physical form and his interest in themes of birth, life and death influenced his art

Other sights nearby share an architectural or medical theme with the Josephinum. For example:

• The neogothic Votivkirche church, constructed to give thanks for a foiled assassination attempt on Emperor Franz Joseph

• The Liechtenstein Gartenpalais, a pristine baroque townhouse which hosts an annual art-themed exhibition

• The Sigmund Freud museum, located in the house where the founder of psychoanalysis once had his surgery and home

How to get there

The Josephinum lies on a major road heading northwest out of the centre.

Subway: the museum is a short walk up from Schottentor station on the U2 line.

Tram: the lines 37, 38, 40, 41 and 42 all take you to the nearby Schwarzspanierstraße stop (and all start / finish one stop further at Schottentor). Another option is lines 5 and 12 to Sensengasse and then walk down.

Address: Währinger Strasse 25, 1090 Vienna | Website