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All Austria Vienna Kriminalmuseum

Kriminalmuseum

Macabre museum devoted to historical Viennese murders.

Vienna, Austria

Added By
Michelle Enemark
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Mummified head of a murderer with blond hair   curiousexpeditions.org
Mummified head of a murderer with blond hair   curiousexpeditions.org
Skull of a murdered child   curiousexpeditions.org
Skull of a murderer   curiousexpeditions.org
Shackles   curiousexpeditions.org
Kriminalmuseum Entrance   http://www.flickr.com/photos/curiousexpedi...
Bloody gloves from the attempted murder (via stabbing) of Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph   http://www.flickr.com/photos/curiousexpedi...
Guillotine   http://www.flickr.com/photos/curiousexpedi...
  gingercinnamon / Atlas Obscura User
  gingercinnamon / Atlas Obscura User
  gingercinnamon / Atlas Obscura User
Kriminalmuseum  
  CoolCrab / Atlas Obscura User
Kriminalmuseum  
  CoolCrab / Atlas Obscura User
  CoolCrab / Atlas Obscura User
  gingercinnamon / Atlas Obscura User
Mocking mask with donkey ears   dutchwatch1 / Atlas Obscura User
Old fashioned guillotine   dutchwatch1 / Atlas Obscura User
Crushed skull   dutchwatch1 / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Skulls, medieval torture devices, bloody gloves, depictions of murder, death masks, and rusty axes - the Kriminalmuseum in Vienna, Austria is not for the faint of heart.

The Kriminalmuseum or Criminal museum follows crime, punishment and murder from the Middle Ages right up to the present day. It is housed in one of the oldest buildings in the Leopoldstadt area, the "Seifensiederhaus," or "Soap Boilers House," and dates back to 1685. Twenty rooms of this 324 year old home are devoted to this surprisingly large and very morbid museum about crime and murder.

Of course the Kriminalmuseum is about more than just murder. There are cases devoted to counterfeit money, lock picking, brothels, and police investigation. But mostly, images of crime scenes, murder weapons and the skulls of both murderers and their victims fill the space. While macabre, the museum has a fascinating and somewhat mysterious quality to it.

For non-German speakers there is a further air of mystery: the informational signs and grisly newspaper articles are all in German. Though sometimes, in the Kriminalmuseum, it is better not to know.

Related Tags

Crime And Punishment

Know Before You Go

See website for opening hours and prices.

Community Contributors

Added By

michelle

Edited By

hrnick, CoolCrab, nuttilynattily, mbison...

  • hrnick
  • CoolCrab
  • nuttilynattily
  • mbison
  • Sebastian Wortys
  • gingercinnamon
  • dutchwatch1

Published

August 24, 2009

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Sources
  • http://curiousexpeditions.org/?cat=34
  • http://www.planetware.com/vienna/leopoldstadt-soap-boilers-house-a-w-soap.htm
  • http://www.kriminalmuseum.at/krimwien.html
Kriminalmuseum
24 Große Sperlgasse
Vienna, 1020
Austria
48.218231, 16.378413
Visit Website
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