Historisches Museum der Stadt Wien

The Historisches Museum der Stadt Wien takes you through the history of Vienna starting from the pre-historic era up to the modern day. The museum is mainly full of art and some artifacts. It displays the art and society of Vienna through different time periods so you can see Vienna’s transition to its current culture.
1. Roman Empire: Settlements in Vienna have dated back to 40,000 B.C. However, the first notable period of Viennese history starts with the Roman Empire, when Vienna was known as Vindobona. Vindobona was an important part of the Roman Empire because it was a port city along the Danube. It was situated in what is now the first district of Vienna and in the Hofburg, you can see some of the ruins from this period.
2. Medieval Vienna 1100-1400: Vienna was relatively small and relied on wine-making during this time for survival; however, it became more of a force to be reckoned with when the Babenbergs chose to reside in Vienna and began the construction of St. Stephens church, now one of the most visited sites in Vienna. Vienna gained even more importance when the Habsburgs took up rule of Austria in the late 1200s, this attracted many to move into the city. The arrival of new residents continued to increase, resulting in the expansion of Vienna and the creation of suburbs.
3. 16th century: Vienna in the 16th century is associated with a lot of instability, including the dissolution of Hungarian rule and war with the Ottomans. Vienna fell to the Turks for 3 weeks and afterwards fear struck the Viennese and Habsburgs, thus causing them to change Vienna into a more fortified city. This period is also accompanied by the spread of Protestantism through the rise of Martin Luther. The Habsburg a strictly Catholic ruling family started to offer more tolerance and opening up to the idea of Protestantism, but not for long.
4. 17th century: Vienna in the 17th century is characterized by the Counter-Reformation. The tolerance towards Protestants had ended and the Habsburgs Catholicized all of Vienna, making it arguably more Catholic than before. In order to show the prestige and superiority of Catholics, Vienna entered the Baroque art period. The Baroque style is associated with opulence, grandeur, and lavishness. It features a lot of gilded elements, rich colors, and amazing frescoes. Notable Baroque structures commissioned in this time include: Karlskirche, upper and lower Belvedere.
5. 18th century: The 18th century is the period of city growth and expansion and social reform. Vienna had multiplied in size and many new suburbs had sprung up around outside the town center. There was a change in the structure of society from feudalism to bourgeois. This transformation was caused by the social reforms that characterize this period: abolition of torture, death penalty, mandatory primary education, increased religious tolerance, and opening of public parks and hospitals.
6. Biedermeier Period: Biedermeier was a character that was featured in a Munich periodical, he was known to be a family man of “modest ambitions and sober pleasures” (Parsons, 195). This period started with the Congress of Vienna in 1815 and ends with the Revolution of 1848, which ushers in the Ringstrasse era. The Biedermeier period is brought about by the Enlightenment period, in which the middle class or bourgeoisie becomes aware of its political disempowerment. Biedermeier is most closely associated with architecture, interior décor, and art of the middle class. This oppression and censorship was brought about by Ferdinand who was determined to thwart democratic and liberal ideas from emerging. The Biedermeier period is the trend of the middle class turning inward toward family, private life, and domesticity. Houses were small, modest, and painted in Schonbrunn gold. The interior of these houses were adorned with porcelain collections and paintings of landscapes or life in the countryside. A characteristic of the Biedermeier period is clutter and gemutlichkeit, or coziness with a claustrophobic connotation. It was a solely bourgeois movement.
7. 1848 Revolution: The continually repressed middle and lower classes of Vienna rose up against the government that resulted in the Revolution of 1848. The revolution was led mainly by student groups, who demanded freedom of speech. The guards were only marginally successful in containing the violence because Emperor Ferdinand had to move to Innsbruck for safety. In the end, however, the Imperial Troops prevailed and surrounded Vienna, resulting in the executions of many revolters. Emperor Ferdinand’s unpopularity led him to abdicate in favor of his nephew Franz Josef at the end of 1848.
8. Age of Franz Josef: Franz Josef rule from 1848-1916 and ushered in an era of transformation for Vienna. With Franz Josef came the knocking down of the city walls leading to the Era of the Ringstrasse and the rise of an upper middle class. These people made their money through the rise of industry in Austria and were often bankers or factory owners. The rise of industry resulted in the fall of the former middle class (Biedermeier), they became very resentful of the Ringstrasse barons, who were mainly immigrants or Jews, and wanted to bring back the “real Austria,” free of immigrants.