Tourist attractions in Vienna : Heeresgeschichtliches Museum

The Museum of Military History is one of the most important history museums in the world and is located in Vienna's Arsenal, a former military complex of buildings in the Landstraße district, not far from the Belvedere palace. In five major sections the museum shows the history of the Habsburg empire from the end of the 16th century until 1918 and Austria's fate after the dissolution of the monarchy up to the year 1945.

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The Military History Museum was built between 1850 and 1856 at the behest of Emperor Franz Joseph I as the new city garrison, after the old one was destroyed in the 1848 revolution. It was built according to plans of Ludwig Foerster and Theophil Hansen and was the first museum built in Vienna. The interior design however took a longer time to be completed. The architects and artists such as Carl Rahl and Carl Blaas, adorned the interior of the museum until 1872, with the figures of the most renowned rulers and military commanders and frescoes of the most notable battles and greatest events in military history of Austria. 

Photo by ulrichsson

Photo by ulrichsson

Photo by ulrichsson

Photo by ulrichsson

Photo by ulrichsson

With the beginning of World War I in 1914, the museum was closed and re-opened again in 1921. After the “Anschluss” of Austria to the Nazi Germany in 1938, the Army Museum was put under the control of the director of army museums in Berlin and used for special exhibitions on the campaigns of World War II. During an American air raid on 10 September 1944, the Army Museum was struck severely and the northern wing destroyed. The reconstruction of the museum started two years later.

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Photo by Martin Schachermayer

Photo by Charlie Dave

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It consists of five main elements: a main entrance hall containing the tomb-like Hall of Generals, and four large exhibition halls, in which the collections are housed. Its bronze cannon are arranged outside the museum, in the grounds of the Arsenal. Each of the four exhibit halls is devoted to a different period of Austrian history, beginning with the Thirty Years' War and the Ottoman Turks, continuing through the Napoleonic Wars, World Wars I & II. There is also a small special exhibition hall where the theme is changed regularly.

Photo by Michiel2005

Photo by _dChris

Photo by Michiel2005

One of the most notable parts of the museum's collection is relates to the assassination of the Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife in Sarajevo by Gavrilo Princip; an incident which led directly to the First World War. On display are the car in which the Archduke and his wife were riding when they were assassinated, the uniform he was wearing, the pistol used to shoot him, and the chaise longue on which he was declared dead.

Photo by Pappenheim

Photo by Pappenheim

Photo by Pappenheim

Photo by Pappenheim

Photo by ulrichsson

The medieval bombard, Pumhart von Steyr from Styria is the largest known wrought-iron bombard by caliber. It weighs around 8 tons and has a length of more than 2.5 meters. It was produced in the early 15th century and could fire, according to modern calculations, an 80 cm stone ball weighing 690 kg to a distance of roughly 600 m after being loaded with 15 kg of gun powder and set at an elevation of 10°. The museum also includes one of the world's largest collections of bronze cannons.

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L'Intrépide ("The Intrepid") was a hydrogen balloon of the French Aerostatic Corps and is the oldest preserved aircraft in Europe. It was used by French army against Austrian forces at the Battle of Würzburg on 3 September 1796. When the French army was defeated the balloon was captured and brought to Vienna.

Photo by Pappenheim

The tank garden behind the building includes the most important combat vehicles of the Austrian forces since 1955. The Museum of Military History also includes many remarkable battle paintings in which the war is reflected in the art of famous painters from the 16th century.


Text Sources: wikipedia.org  and  hgm.at