What Jüdisches Museum Wien does

Jüdisches Museum Wien (Jewish Museum Vienna) is a Vienna-based cultural institution operating as Jüdisches Museum der Stadt Wien GmbH, affiliated with the city of Vienna through Wien Holding. The museum presents exhibitions, collections, library services, and digital projects on Jewish history, culture, and religion, and traces its lineage to the world's first Jewish museum founded in 1895 before being re-established in 1988 by Mayor Helmut Zilk. It operates two locations in Vienna's historic first district: Museum Dorotheergasse (Palais Eskeles, opened 1993) housing the permanent exhibition 'Our City! Jewish Vienna - Then to Now', and Museum Judenplatz (opened 2000) featuring archaeological excavations of a medieval synagogue, Rachel Whiteread's Holocaust memorial, and 'Our Medieval City!'. A specialized library at Rabensteig 3 holds approximately 45,000 books dating to the 16th century, and the museum curates one of Europe's largest Judaica collections with around 20,000 digitized objects.

The institution monetizes through a diversified mix of revenue streams including admission tickets (€15 adult, €13 reduced, €11 student/group), annual passes (€39/€24), guided tours (€80–€120 for private; €29 for the Boker Tov exclusive morning tour), school workshops, a museum shop, an on-site Taïm Café offering Israeli street food, event venue rental at Palais Eskeles, and corporate sponsorship. Digital products extend reach beyond physical visitation, including an online collection database, virtual exhibitions, a Digital Holocaust Memorial, and a Spotify podcast. Customer segments are diversified across general public and tourists, school and educational groups, academic researchers, and corporate event-hire clients. Distribution is supported by co-branded tourism partnerships (notably the 'Jewish Vienna' walking tour with the Sigmund Freud Museum), tourism pass programs (Vienna City Card, Flexi PASS, Kulturpass), and an active social media presence across Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, X, YouTube, and Google Arts & Culture.

Leadership is led by Scientific Director and CEO Dr. Barbara Staudinger (appointed July 1, 2022), supported by a team spanning curatorial, collection management, education, digital content, marketing and sales, ticketing, infrastructure, and conservation functions. The museum is governed by an eleven-member supervisory board (Aufsichtsrat) and a six-member scientific advisory council, and holds the Austrian Ecolabel in the Green Museums category (2022). Notable programming signals include the OT Project placing memorial light sculptures across 16 Viennese districts, a 2026 exhibition pipeline, and continued digitization of holdings for research access.

Name

Jüdisches Museum Wien

Legal name

Jüdisches Museum der Stadt Wien GmbH

Website

https://jmw.at

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Jüdisches Museum Wien is a Vienna-based museum operating two historic locations that present exhibitions, a 45,000-volume library, and digitized Judaica collections on Jewish history and culture, serving tourists, schools, researchers, and event clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cultural Museum

NAICS

Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (7121), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712)

akta.pro primary industry

History Museums (THAJADAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Art Galleries & Exhibition Spaces (Commercial & Nonprofit) (THAJADAH)

Keywords

• Jewish cultural museum
• Holocaust education
• Judaica collection
• Cultural heritage preservation
• Museum exhibitions

Headquarters

HQ city

Vienna

HQ country

Austria

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Admission Tickets: Revenue from ticket sales at both museum locations with tiered pricing for adults, seniors, students, and groups. Tickets are valid for 7 days at both locations.
2. Annual Pass Subscriptions: Annual membership providing unlimited access to both locations, 10% shop discount, free cloakroom, and one free poster.
3. Museum Shop: Retail sales of exhibition catalogues, books, postcards, and merchandise at both locations.
4. Café Operations: Taïm Café operated within Museum Dorotheergasse, serving Israeli street food including hummus, falafel, shakshuka, and baked goods.
5. Event Venue Rental: Palais Eskeles atrium and auditorium rented for evening events including lectures, readings, film screenings, concerts, cocktail receptions, gala dinners, and civil weddings.
6. Guided Tours and Workshops: Revenue from private tours, exclusive experiences (Boker Tov), school workshops, and the 100% Vienna Museum & Falafel walking tour.
7. Corporate Sponsorship: Partnerships with companies for sponsoring exhibitions and programs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Jewish Museum Vienna operates two physical museum locations (Museum Dorotheergasse at Palais Eskeles and Museum Judenplatz) in Vienna's historic center, presenting permanent and rotating exhibitions on Jewish history, religion, and culture, supported by a 45,000-volume library, a research archive, an online collection database, educational programs, guided tours, and a museum shop. It sells admission tickets, an annual pass, venue rentals, and merchandise, while also conducting outreach such as the OT light-sculpture memorial project across Vienna.

Product overview

Jüdisches Museum Wien operates as a two-location museum complex in Vienna featuring Museum Dorotheergasse (Palais Eskeles) and Museum Judenplatz, connected by a 7-minute walk through the historic city center. The museum offers permanent exhibitions ('Our City! Jewish Vienna - Then to Now' and 'Our Medieval City! The First Jewish Community in Vienna'), rotating special exhibitions, and the OT Project memorial with light sculptures across Vienna. Supporting offerings include a specialized library (45,000 books), research archive, educational programs and school workshops, guided tours in multiple languages, the Taïm Café, and museum shop. Digital products include an online collection database (20,000+ objects), online exhibitions, audio guides, and a Digital Holocaust Memorial platform. The museum also offers an Annual Pass subscription for unlimited access and hosts events at its venue rental facilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Museum Dorotheergasse (Palais Eskeles) Primary museum location in Vienna's historic center housing the permanent exhibition 'Our City! Jewish Vienna - Then to Now' along with rotating special exhibitions, the museum shop, auditorium, and Taim Café. Open Sun-Fri 10:00-18:00.
• Museum Judenplatz Second museum location featuring archaeological excavations of the medieval synagogue, the permanent exhibition 'Our Medieval City! The First Jewish Community in Vienna', and Rachel Whiteread's Holocaust Memorial above ground. Open Sun-Thu 10:00-18:00, Fri 10:00-17:00.
• Online Collection Database Digital database at sammlung.jmw.at providing online access to the museum's collection of approximately 20,000 objects including the IKG collection on permanent loan and municipal collections (Berger, Schlaff, Stern). Available for researchers and the general public.
• Online Exhibitions Platform Virtual exhibitions platform featuring digital versions of museum exhibitions accessible online, including 'The Migration of Things - Judaica and Their Unexpected Stories'. Targets remote visitors and educational users.
• Digital Holocaust Memorial

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 800 years of Jewish Vienna history documented and presented
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• University of Applied Arts ViennaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 November 2018Collaboration for the OT (Light Symbol) memorial project, where artist Lukas Maria Kaufmann from the university designed the five-meter 'star stele' sculptures commemorating destroyed synagogues.
• Sigmund Freud MuseumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint partnership for the official 'Jewish Vienna' walking tour, combining visits to both museums and the historic city center. This co-branded experience is marketed as the official walking tour of Jewish Vienna.
• Wien EnergieminorOthersEnergy partner for the OT memorial project, supporting the illumination of light symbols commemorating destroyed Viennese synagogues.
• KÖR – Art in Public SpaceminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCollaboration for the OT memorial project as part of Vienna's public art program, selecting and implementing light sculptures in Viennese districts.
• Advisory Council for the Commemorative Year 2018minorOthersChaired by former Austrian President Heinz Fischer, provided guidance and support for the 2018 commemorative activities including the OT project.
• Jewish Community of Vienna (IKG)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary collection partner providing the Jewish Community collection on permanent loan. The IKG collection forms a unique component of the museum's current holdings, with objects returned after WWII restitution.
• Taïm CaféminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorIsraeli street food café operated within Museum Dorotheergasse, offering hummus, falafel, and Levantine cuisine as an on-site catering partner.
• Vienna City Card and Tourism PartnersminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDiscount partnerships with Viennacitycard, Stadt Wien Vorteilsclub, Die Presse-Club, EasyCityPass Wien, Ö1 Club, Queer City Pass, and VÖKK for reduced admission programs.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Belvedere: Vienna's major art museum at Palais Belvedere. Comparable as a heritage-building museum operation in Vienna's 1st district competing for the same tourist and event-rental audiences, though its art focus differs from the Jewish-history specialty.
• Israel Museum Jerusalem: Israel's national museum encompassing archaeology, fine arts, and Jewish art and life wings. Comparable as a Jewish-cultural and historical collection holder, though broader in scope than a dedicated Jewish-history museum.

Direct peers

• Jewish Museum Berlin: Germany's leading Jewish museum, presenting Jewish history and culture across a major dedicated building (Daniel Libeskind design) and the Academy program. Directly comparable in mission, exhibition scale, Judaica collections, educational programming, and Holocaust education focus.
• Yad Vashem: Israel's official Holocaust memorial and museum. Comparable as a Holocaust-education and remembrance institution with deep archives, large visitor flow, and research resources aligned to Jewish-history scholarship.
• POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews: Warsaw museum presenting 1,000 years of Jewish life in Poland with a large core exhibition and temporary shows. Directly comparable as a national Jewish-heritage museum with extensive collection, education programs, and Holocaust memorial components.
• Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust: New York City museum focused on Jewish life before, during, and after the Holocaust. Comparable in mission, collection focus, Holocaust education, and audience of international tourists and school groups.
• Anne Frank House: Amsterdam-based museum and memorial dedicated to Jewish history and the Holocaust, anchored in Anne Frank's historic hiding place. Comparable as a Jewish-heritage museum with strong educational programming, international visitor flows, and Holocaust remembrance focus.
• United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: Washington, D.C. museum dedicated to Holocaust documentation, education, and remembrance. Comparable in Holocaust education mission, research depth, educational programming, and global audience reach for Jewish-history content.

Regional players

• Sigmund Freud Museum: Vienna's museum dedicated to Sigmund Freud at his former apartment and workplace. Direct partner on the official 'Jewish Vienna' walking tour; comparable in scale, single-city Vienna footprint, cultural-tourism orientation, and Jewish-heritage narrative.

Emerging players

• Leo Baeck Institute: New York-based research, archival, and educational institution focused on the history of German-speaking Jewry. Comparable in research and archival mission, library collections, and audience of academic researchers and Jewish-heritage scholars, though smaller in exhibition footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/jewishmuseumVIE
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCqJXD9Ncasj-IiRfDCLG6hw
• Facebookfacebook.com/JuedischesMuseumWien/?v=wall
• Instagraminstagram.com/jewishmuseumvienna
• TikToktiktok.com/@jewishmuseumvienna
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/jewishmuseumvienna

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Jüdisches Museum Wien