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(Mon-Fri 9.00-15.00 hours and first Saturday of the month 10.00-14.00 hours, closed public holidays) |
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The Institute for the History of Medicine and its collections have been housed in the Josephinum since1920, the abbreviated name for the "Medizinisch-chirurgische Josephs-Akademie" which served as a training school for aspiring doctors in the Imperial Army between 1785 and 1874. |
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The founding father of the museum was Max Neuburger, a former professor of the history of medicine. The collection of historical objects was updated in the 1960s by Erna Lesky, Director of the Institute at that time. The first room is exclusively dedicated to the Vienna Medical School of the 18th century. The second room with its 27 showcases mainly concentrates on the Vienna Medical School of the 19th and early 20th century |
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The main attraction of the museum, however, is the unique collection of life-like anatomical and obstetric wax models. They were produced in Florence in the 1780s and have since then been displayed in the Josephinum in 368 rosewood and Venetian glass showcases. These wax models, initially used for anatomy instruction, are superb works of art and apart from a similar collection in Florence, form the only collection of its kind in the world open to the public. |
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