My Jewish Thursday - Judenplatz and The Vienna Jewish Museum

My Spring Break is flyyying by!  Monday and Wednesday were filled with randomness that I'll post about this weekend, and Tuesday was filled with taxes and Skype dates, which are interesting to no one.

Today was supposed to have been filled with Jewish-related things:  a tour of a synagogue, tours of some museums and viewing a memorial to Viennese Jews that died in the Holocaust.  However, due to some miscommunication, I wasn't able to tour the synagogue.  I did take photos of it, which will be featured in the next blog post.

I did also manage to get to see the museums and the memorial.

The first museum (read about it here) was at a huge square known as Judenplatz.  In medieval times, this was the Jewish ghetto area until the Jews were expelled/murdered in the 1400s.  This museum is situated around the ruins of the original synagogue from the 120ss that was build in this ghetto; the ruins are on display, but there wasn't much to look at.

This museum focused on the Viennese Jewish community today, and it showcased various coins, relics and architectural details from the said synagogue.

(I didn't take any photos inside because I don't think it was allowed.)

A pretty window above the entrance

Here's the memorial I'd wanted to see.

Here's a close-up of the exterior, with the explanation below.

According to this website, "Shoah" means "a mass murder of the European Jews by the Nazis during World War II; a Hebrew word for holocast."

 

Some old, pretty housetops on the platz

Brezel is where I had a Viennese birthday dinner with my friend Mallory.  It's right around the corner, literally, from the platz.

The Jewish museums had some sort of deal today, so I was able to tour both for the price of one.  Woo hoo!  :)

This second museum is the oldest Jewish museum in the world.  (They still count the years that the Nazis forced it to close.)  I didn't take photos inside, but you can read this website for more info.

It basically consisted of collections of various artifacts belonging to either Jews or to collectors or people documenting Jewish heritage in Vienna.  It also had several interactive areas for the public to express their viewpoints of such a museum and of tolerance.

Very, very interesting!

I want to return to its cafe to eat Jewish food!  :)