Naturhistorisches Museum

The Naturhistorisches Museum stands in Vienna as a natural history museum and Austrian research institution. Its galleries present natural-history objects from many scientific fields.

Gottfried Semper and Carl Hasenauer designed the building, whose exterior matches the Kunsthistorisches Museum across the street. The larger Imperial Forum project remained unfinished. Collections include rare fossils, minerals, meteorites, ethnological objects, plants, and animals. Research spans human, earth, and life sciences. The museum also carries herbarium specimens under the citation code W.

The oldest collections began with Franz I’s purchase from Jean de Baillou. Maria Theresa opened the collection to the public. Scientific expeditions brought material from Brazil, the Caribbean, and other distant regions. The SMS Novara returned with natural and ethnological material. An Austro-Hungarian North Pole expedition brought back journals and specimens after its ship became trapped in ice. Wheelchair accessibility forms part of its recorded features. The museum connects Vienna’s architecture, public displays, historic collections, and natural-science research.