Clock Museum (Uhrenmuseum) description and photos - Austria: Vienna (Topic)

Clock Museum (Uhrenmuseum) description and photos - Austria: Vienna. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The title in English is Uhrenmuseum.

Photo and description

The Clock Museum is a museum located in one of the oldest houses in Vienna, Obizzy Palace, in the first district. In May 1917, the city council accepted watches from the collection of Maria von Ebner-Eschenbach and high school teacher Rudolf Kaftan (1870-1961). It was decided to establish a clock museum in the Obizzi palace, which the city bought in 1901. The museum was inaugurated on May 30, 1921, showing the townspeople about 8,000 watches.

During the era of National Socialism, Jews were deported from Vienna, including the watchmaker Alexander Gross, who collected a large collection of watches in a tiny shop on Wipplingerstrasse street. Gross and his wife emigrated to the United States, and his shop was closed. The museum bought 70 watches from Alexander at the price of 885 Reichsmarks. During World War II, the museum was closed and the collection was moved to castles in Lower Austria. Some of the clocks were lost while moving.

Today, the museum exhibits over 1000 samples on three floors.

One of the oldest exhibits is a tower clock from the first half of the 15th century. Another important exhibit is the clock from St. Stephen's Cathedral. In addition to tower clocks, the museum displays mantel, floor and wall clocks, as well as a large collection of pocket clocks. The museum is particularly proud of its unique pieces: the Caetano astronomical clock, made in 1769, the porcelain grandfather clock of the famous actress Katharina Schratt. Many watches are still in working order.

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Topic: Clock Museum (Uhrenmuseum) description and photos - Austria: Vienna.