Sigmund Freud Museum, Vienna

Out of all of the places Steph and I visited during our short stay in Vienna, I didn’t anticipate the Freud Museum to leave such a lasting impression.

We visited the Freud Museum in the late afternoon after eating schnitzel for lunch. The museum is a 10-minute walk from Votivkirche and Universitatstrasse.

When you approach the Freud Museum, it’s clear that it isn’t your typical tourist experience. And, for the record, you don’t need to be interested in psychology to check out the museum—it’s just a great way to get an intimate glimpse of living history in Vienna.

You press the apartment building doorbell to enter the building. Once you are admitted, follow the signs to travel up the staircase and find the door to Dr. Freud’s office. The purpose of this is to experience how patients would visit Dr. Freud.

The apartment not only served as Dr. Freud’s office but also as his family residence with his wife, children, and sister-in-law.

As I followed the audio tour in each room of the apartment, I was surprised to find most of the apartment sparsely furnished. There were pictures of how it used to look with the period furniture and bookshelves filled with volumes and cultural artifacts…

Then it hit me.

Freud was evacuated before the Nazis entered the city. There was no time to save anything. What is currently on display at the Freud Museum was thankfully preserved and kept by Anna Freud, Freud’s youngest daughter.

Visiting institutions like the Sigmund Freud Museum remind people the importance of history. Dr. Freud’s work served as the foundation for modern psychology—it’s only right for the world to understand Dr. Freud and the impact of his legacy.