An exhibition as varied as the city itself. The Wien Museum takes a diverse look at winter in Vienna through time.
- Nostalgia mixed with harsh realities
- Includes historical photos, art, meteorology, models & more
- Around 600 illustrative objects
- Plenty for kids, too
- Runs Nov 14, 2024 – Mar 16, 2025
- See also:
The Vanishing of a Season
(Picture postcard of the frozen Danube at the Reichsbrücke bridge in the winter of 1929; photo: Wien Museum)
Winter is not what it once was. Why, I remember when we had to search for lost trains by poking rods through mammoth snow drifts. (Never trust your memory.)
But mild is certainly the term most used with recent winters in Vienna. Not like the -15°C (5°F) encountered on one visit back in the early 90s, which almost made me cancel plans to move here.
The undeniable changes to the coldest part of the year form a context for the Winter in Vienna exhibition, which presents the season across four themes and several centuries.
Around 600 paintings, photos, models, installations and more illustrate the points made.
(Sonja Bachmayer, Christmas market on the Rathausplatz, 2023; photo © Sonja Bachmayer)
- Cold City reveals the strategies used to deal with low temperatures and how the available choices have always depended on status and wealth
- As I write this, deep fog has enveloped Vienna, and Dark Season explores aspects of the wintry loss of sunlight: from seasonal depression to Christmas displays and light pollution
- Icy Fun takes us into more pleasant territory and times, where sport and leisure pursuits make use of snow and ice, and chilly temperatures contributed to such cultural phenomena as Vienna’s winter balls
- White Splendor addresses issues around snow directly: creator of beautiful cityscapes but a cause of problems in the past for supply chains and a city on the move
(We still get snow now and then. I took this photo in the Prater in 2023)
Winter in Vienna manages an excellent balancing act by mixing nostalgia with contemporary realities and a modern eye.
As you contemplate idyllic wintry scenes portrayed in oils and watercolours, for example, you don’t lose sight of the socioeconomic issues hidden behind snow-covered walls. And you wonder if such images have a false claim on our expectations in a warmer world.
Talking of which, the ever-present challenges of climate change run like a veneer over all the history, socioeconomics, art and pretty postcards from the 19th century.
So we learn, for example, how different tree species are dealing with changing temperature patterns.
And the clever selection of display objects includes a few particular delights, such as many old views of Vienna’s churches, squares and waterways. Not to mention small surprises, like the smell of a wood fire or an ice skate made of bone.
Dates, tickets & tips
Drift around winters past and present from November 14th, 2024 to March 16th, 2025. The main areas of the museum are free, but the special exhibitions require a ticket (€12 for standard adult entrance).
To sip some winter spirit outside of the museum, try a couple of seasonal Viennese experiences:
- Visit a Christmas market (open from the start of the exhibition until December 23rd, with some staying open longer)
- Pop into an advent concert in a church or other historical venue (like Karlskirche next door)
- Try some illuminated open-air ice skating through the park in front of city hall (open January 23rd to March 2nd)
- Treat yourself to some roast chestnuts from a roadside Maronistand
Or you can just grumble about the grit and salt on the pavement.
How to get there
Winter in Vienna occupies the top exhibition floor of the main Wien Museum building, which has Karlsplatz station next door on the U1, U4 and (possibly) U2 subway lines. Check the Wien Museum article for travel tips.
Address: Karlsplatz 8, 1040 Vienna