Sigmund Freud, the father of modern-day psychology, lived in Vienna’s 9th District for almost 40 years. The house on Berggasse 19 was his home and office from 1891 to 1938, when he and his family fled Nazi occupation and escaped to London. Today, Freud’s living quarters and offices are a museum dedicated to his life and work. The Sigmund Freud Foundation, which runs the museum, aims not only to celebrate Freud, but also to deepen the knowledge of psychoanalysis, its historical dimensions and its links to art.
In 1971, Anna Freud donated original furnishings to the museum, including his waiting room, and a selection of her father’s antiques collection, as well as signed copies and first editions of his works. Walking through the rooms that were once his office, visitors get a feel for Freud’s life and the cultural background of living in turn-of-the-century Vienna.
During the 1980’s and 1990’s, the museum was expanded to include a library, a gift shop, a book storage unit and a lecture and exhibition hall. In order to add these new sections to the museum, architect Wolfgang Tschapeller integrated and modernized the rooms that were once the Freud family’s private apartments, maintaining a distinct separation from the historical structure of the apartments.
The Sigmund Freud Museum Contemporary Art Collection started as a project which aimed to confront scientific research with modern art, and in response many artists donated works which can now be seen in the rooms that were once Anna Freud’s. |
