Freud Museum

Written by John Reality, Cambodia, June 2011

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Cultural Experience, Museum

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Comment from John Reality

Located in Vienna's ninth district, the Sigmund Freud Museum occupies the former workplace and residence of the famous Austrian neurologist. The exhibits document the life and work of the founder of psychoanalysis in the house in which he was based from 1891 until 1938, when he was forced by the Nazis to flee to England with his family.

Designed with the assistance of Freud's youngest daughter, Anna, the floor plan includes separate exhibits consisting of contemporary art, photographs by Edmund Engelman and others, medical artifacts, manuscripts and correspondence and other antiquities in the lobby, waiting room, consulting room, study room and library. The media room (formerly the kitchen) features video and audio installations with archival footage of Freud, his colleagues, and his family, as well as an archival film with commentary by Anna Freud. The main exhibition hall can be rented for gatherings and events and there are books, cards and memorabilia for sale in the museum shop.

Beginning in May, 2002, the museum has regularly incorporated Freud-related artwork and instillations by artists such as the celebrated Austrian etcher Ferdinand Schmutzer and the American artist Louise Bourgeois, as well as a selection of Freud-inspired cartoons from The New Yorker magazine.

For visitors interested in pursuing scholarly research, the museum puts its considerable collection of books and papers (with an inventory numbering in the tens of thousands) at the disposal of amateurs and academics alike every Tuesday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. The main museum is open daily from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission is reasonable, with discounts for seniors, students, and the press.

Photo curtesy of Freud Museum. Copyright: Sigmund Freud Privatstiftung/Gerald Zugmann

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