Jewish Vienna: A Historical Journey through Culture, Crisis and Revival
5.0
14 Ratings
Wien
Embark on a 3-hour historical journey through Jewish Vienna, exploring the rich culture, resilience, and revival of the Jewish community. Discover the contributions of influential figures, visit destroyed synagogues, and reflect on the Holocaust memorial.
Duration:
3 hours
Cancellation:
1 day
learn more
Highlights
- Stadttempel Synagogue - Outside the beautiful doors of the Jewish City Temple, we consider the how the Viennese Jewish Community had to keep their synagogues barely visible from the street despite their influential role in their city’s development over centuries. Few European cities have been so closely intertwined with Jewish history as Vienna. Outside this important temple, we learn of Jewish life and increasing settlement in Vienna from the Middle Ages, despite dramatic expulsions.
We don’t visit the interior but we recommend that you contact the synagogue to arrange a tour with their own guides, open April to October, Monday to Thursday. If you take the 11:30 AM Monday synagogue tour and then enjoy your lunch, you are in the perfect place to begin our 2:00 PM tour of Jewish Vienna. If you take the 2:00 PM synagogue tour on Tuesday and Thursdays, it will fit well after our 9:30 AM Tuesday and Thursday tour with a lunch break.
- Theater Nestroyhof Hamakom - We consider the influence of Vienna’s modern Jewish community on every aspect of the city’s cultural life from outside the Nestroyhof Theater with its stunning Art Nouveau exterior, once home to Yiddish-speaking ensembles.
- Leopoldstadt - Winding through Vienna’s second district, to visit the memorial site of the destroyed Leopoldstädter Temple. Today, it is symbolized by four imposing white columns reaching up into the sky.
- Judenplatz Holocaust Memorial - Learn of the victims and survivors of Nazi genocide and the phenomenon of antisemitism in Europe while visiting the destroyed synagogues of both Ashkenazi and Sephardic congregations and the Judenplatz Holocaust Memorial.
What's Included
- 3-hour guided stroll through Vienna’s Jewish heritage sites
What's Not Included
- Metro fare. If you don’t have a visitor pass, our guide helps you to purchase at the first station.
Additional Information
During the Medieval period, Vienna’s Jewish population was among the biggest in Europe. This comprehensive 3-hour tour of Jewish Vienna delves into the trials and tribulations of the city’s Jewish residents throughout history, covering their expulsion, horrifying genocide, and subsequent resurgence. Led by a knowledgeable historian, you will uncover the significant impacts made by prior intellectual and cultural giants, and learn about the delicate renaissance of Vienna’s Jewish community happening presently.
Our journey starts outside the Jewish City Temple, from where we zigzag through the second district towards the demolished Leopoldstädter Temple. Our voyage brings us to the Nestroyhof Theater, with its magnificent Art Nouveau facade that once housed Yiddish-speaking troupes, we pause to reflect upon the talented leaders in the fields of intellect, politics, and economy from within the Jewish community: individuals like Sigmund Freud, Theodor Herzl, Karl Krauss, Franz Werfel, and Gustav Mahler. Understanding the stories of the victims and survivors of Nazi atrocities, we pay visits to the ruins of Ashkenazi and Sephardic synagogues and the Judenplatz Holocaust monument.
- Your tour guides are professors, doctoral students, historians, journalists, art critics, and published author
Location
Stadttempel
Seitenstettengasse
Meet your guide right at the doors of the Jewish City Temple (Stadttempel). When you book, we send you your guide's photo, phone and bio.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
5.0
(14 Ratings)
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Europe
Oct 20, 2023
A wonderful tour that brought jewish Vienna to life! - Annellie was a terrific guide who used stories and her knowledge of Jewish Vienna to make it alive for us. Very impressed.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Cristie
Jul 3, 2023
Outstanding - Our guide Annalee was outstanding. Super knowledgeable and flexible as to what we we’re interested in.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nancy_l
Jun 5, 2023
Good Jewish history tour - Annalise was very knowledgeable about Jewish history in Vienna. She portrays the long story of Jews in Vienna, both good and bad. She was fun for adults, and helpful finding a good restaurant for after our tour. Definitely recommend her tour.
Review provided by Viator
Jan_a
May 27, 2023
Best tour and guide - The guide was awesome had so much knowledge and information to to share. It was not what we expected, because she shared more about the Jewish people and their way of life through history. The tour guide was the best we have ever had. Thank you, Annelie!
Review provided by Viator
Drstanleyj_g
Apr 19, 2023
Excellent Tour with an excellent guide - Although we were expecting a small group, we were the only couple on the tour with Annilie. She met us in front of the.Stattemple. And for 3 1/2 hours she took us through Jewish Vienna an an excellent and comprehensive tour. She provided us with the history and the current situation as well. As a history of the persecution the Jews faced from medieval times, and through the holocaust. As well as life for the Jews in Vienna now. We took the underground to the theater district and ended the tour at a beautiful coffee house. She was an excellent guide, and we would highly recommend taking this tour.
Review provided by Viator
867hannahz
Mar 23, 2023
Would like to have another in-depth one in the near future - We had a wonderful time with our tour guide Annelie. We were panic when realizing that our tour was in the morning vs the afternoon, she adapted us to pick us up at a tube station near us, which gave us such as smooth flow into the tour with her. She took us to several places no other tour guide will even have any idea where they are. She is professional and kind, very knowledgeable and detailed. This trip opened doors for our future detailed tours we would like to have such as the film industry of Vienna.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kim
Dec 1, 2022
Great tour with an excellent guide - Our guide, Annelie, was friendly and welcoming, and very knowledgeable and passionate about the subject - we really enjoyed the tour. At the start of the tour, she outlined her proposed itinerary and checked with us to make sure it fit with our interests. She focused on both medieval history and 20th century times, and highlighted the contributions of many members of the Jewish community to improving life in Vienna and beyond. She showed us several places that did not seem accessible to the general public, and made the tour even more interesting with stories and additional pictures and small video clips. The time flew by and we enjoyed visiting several different areas of the city (traveling by public transit). I would definitely recommend Annelie as a guide for this tour or other historical tours of Vienna.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Michael_t
Sep 23, 2022
Jewish tour of Vienna - Our guide Was exceptionally well versed in the history of the Jewish community throughout its stay in Vienna. A real wealth of knowledge.
Review provided by Viator
Nhoss
Aug 28, 2022
A fresh approach to history by a wonderful knowledgeable guide! - My husband and I enjoyed our tour with Annelie very much. We were a few minutes late because of the metro unexpectedly stopping however Annelie called us on our cell phone and kindly assured us that she would wait for us. She is very knowledgeable and pleasant and accommodating. we learned many things about the early Jewish community and wonderful stories about many outstanding citizens… it was refreshing to learn these background stories of real lives and events that took place long before World War II. our walk took us places that we would not normally even know about without Annelie guiding us (we did not go in museums but you can always go back later if you want to on your own, which we did, One ticket will get you into both) Also, I needed to run into a drugstore to buy a mask (which is important to wear on the metro) and Annelie had a story about the building I went into and the family that it housed back in the day… we could never know any of these things on our own so I highly recommend this tour. Annelie also recommended a wonderful place for lunch which we enjoyed very much. PS Thank you Annelie for everything… It was a pleasure getting to meet you and spending our morning with you and having you open up a new adventure for us!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Susan_k
May 27, 2022
A great tour and a wonderful tour guide - Annelie Pichler was a wonderful guide! The tour covered a broad history of the Jewish community in Vienna, and Annelie brought every moment alive with her narration and her visuals. She gave us the benefit of her wide range of knowledge and understanding of Viennese Jewish life through the ages.
Review provided by Viator
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