Sigmund Freud Museum

The Sigmund Freud Museum in Vienna is located at Berggasse 19 in the Alsergrund district, where the founder of psychoanalysis lived and worked from 1891 until he fled in 1938. After the annexation of Austria, Freud was forced to emigrate to London because of his Jewish heritage, and he died there a year later. The museum, which opened in 1971, presents comprehensive documentation of the thinker's life and work in his former practice and living quarters. Visitors can see original pieces of furniture, the historic waiting room, and parts of Freud's collection of small antique sculptures. The famous couch, however, is in the Freud Museum in London. Since the extensive renovation in 2019 and 2020, the entire first floor, including the private quarters that were previously off-limits, has been open to the public, significantly expanding the museum's exhibition space.

In addition to the permanent exhibition, the museum hosts rotating special exhibitions that explore the influence of psychoanalysis on art and society. A particular focus is the adjoining library, which, with forty thousand volumes, is considered the largest research library on psychoanalysis in Europe. The museum also includes a contemporary art gallery, where installations by international artists on Freudian themes are on display. The museum is also home to the research institute of the Sigmund Freud Private Foundation. Every year on Freud's birthday, the Sigmund Freud Lecture takes place, in which renowned psychoanalysts speak on current social issues. With more than one hundred thousand visitors a year, the institution is a major draw for anyone interested in psychology and cultural history in the Austrian capital.