The Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum in Vienna is the counterpart of the Museum of Art History and Fine Arts, as they form a pair of twin buildings around the Maria Theresa square. It was opened In August 1889 and intended to accommodate the enormous natural history collections of the Habsburgs. Having been updated and modernized constantly, it now hosts one of the major natural history collections in Europe. The exhibits are displayed in 39 galleries and a domed hall.
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The museum is an exhibit itself, with its science-themed statues and paintings, the cosmos-themed wall stuccoes and the precious furniture. World-famous and irreplaceable exhibits are to be found here, such as the Venus from Willendorf statue of the fertility goddess, Steller's sea cow and various giant dinosaur skeletons, the mammoth, the saber tooth tiger or the giant stag.
8.700 square meters of exhibition room present a journey through the history of Earth, from the origins of human culture.
The Ground Floor is dedicated to precious stones and minerals, rare fossils and giant dinosaurs - the skeleton of a Diplodocus, the largest vertebrate which ever lived on dry land- as well as famous prehistoric works of art and tools.
The first floor presents the overwhelming variety of the animal world, from unicellular organisms to larger mammals. The collection is also given great value by exhibits of already extinct or endangered species.
The separate rooms of the museum display meteors, exhibits from the stone age, bronze age, a collection of insects, a collection of sharks, crawling animals, birds, elephants, lions and bears and many more.
The shark room features the largest free-standing showcase in Europe.
In the dome hall, surrounded by impressive architecture, you can visit the museum shop, which provides a large variety of products, from replicates of exhibits to youth-oriented gifts and interesting books.
You can enjoy refreshments and typically Viennese snacks in the Cafe Nautilus, in the heart of the museum, or a so-called shell dinner inspired by the giant crabs in the exhibition, in the upper dome hall. The dinner includes a dessert buffet with a wonderful and delicious chocolate fountain.
