The Austrian Museum of Folk Life and Folk Art (Volkskundemuseum Wien ) dates back to the Habsburg Monarchy. The museum is located in the beautiful Gartenpalais Schönborn in Vienna’s 8th district. Michael Haberlandt and Wilhelm Hein founded it in 1895 as a place where the history of all folks of the multi-ethnic Austro-Hungarian empire was presented to the visitors. Due to the political changes that took place within Europe during the 20th century, the museum went through many phases of reinvention and the museums’ exhibitions had various target settings in the course of time.

Today, historical and contemporary European cultures of everyday life are the focal point. The permanent exhibition shows objects mostly dating from the 17th to the 19th century. Special exhibitions focus on everyday life within Europe during different times, demonstrating the connection between the past and today. The museum experiments with modern techniques of explaining history which makes a visit enlightening.