Wien Museum is a general-purpose metropolitan museum with a wide range of collections and exhibitions – from the history of the city to art, fashion and modern culture, from the earliest settlements to the present day. Because of its general approach and interdisciplinary potential, it occupies a unique position among Vienna’s museums. It has sites throughout the city. Taking the city of Vienna as a model, it explores the general theme of social, cultural and urban change in comparison with other cities.

In its consideration of the history of the city and the evidence of the past the museum also takes account of current issues and themes. It collects, studies and reinterprets the objects in the various collections and their significance for our lives. Although Wien Museum is not primarily an art institution, it also deals with art and the conditions in which it is created. Artistic phenomena are placed in their social and cultural context and considered within a broader framework (“art plus” principle).

The history of the city and the cultures within it are not regarded as homogeneous processes, and the collection of objects and their exhibition are presented and managed with account taken of the lifestyles, interests and recollections of people of different origins. Collection activities in future will be based on the principles of radical selectivity and significant selection. The collections focus on Vienna and are supplemented by artefacts from the twentieth century.

Wien Museum is a repository of knowledge and a public medium. It offers permanent residents, newcomers and passing visitors an opportunity for contemplation and reflection.

To all of them the message is simple:
if you are interested in Vienna, this is the place to pick up its traces.