Join us for a visit to one of the curious rarities in Vienna. The unique Globe Museum sports hundreds of globes for you to learn about the development of our understanding about what is where and how maps should be depicted.
Step into the one-of-a-kind Globe Museum, where you’ll find over 240 original globes showcasing Earth, the sky, the moon, and even Mars! This fascinating collection lets you explore how our understanding of the world and the cosmos has evolved over the centuries. From stunning works of art to scientific marvels, these globes bring history to life.
The museum takes you on a journey through the art and science of globe-making, showing how cartographic and cosmographic knowledge has shaped our view of the universe over the last 500 years. It’s a chance to see these magical spheres up close and learn their secrets.
Vienna’s love for globes goes back to the 19th century when the Imperial Library started collecting them. By 1921, the collection moved to the National Library’s map division, and in 1956, the Globe Museum opened with just 63 exhibits. Today, the collection has grown to around 600 terrestrial and celestial globes, many of them older than 1850.
This is the only museum in the world dedicated to globes, and it’s full of treasures! Here are just a few highlights you won’t want to miss: the Sphaera Stellifera, a celestial globe from the 1620s featuring stunning star sign illustrations; the Mercator Globe (1541), which you can explore digitally to uncover what 16th-century mapmakers got right—and wrong (poor Australia!); the beautifully detailed 1688 Earth Globe by Vincenzo Coronelli, who created globes for Louis XIV of France; and the 1536 Gemma Frisius Globe, the oldest globe in Austria and one of the oldest in the world.
Interactive touchscreens give you the inside scoop on the history, production, and use of globes. You can even check out their modern digital counterpart, the hyperglobe. But trust us — the real magic lies in admiring the craftsmanship of the originals.
And while you’re there, don’t miss the stunning Golden Cabinet, a Baroque masterpiece with breathtaking 17th-century wall paintings.
The museum is on the first floor and fully accessible, with an elevator and shared facilities (including an accessible restroom) with the Esperanto Museum on the ground floor.
There’s no shop or café in the museum itself, but with so many great spots nearby, you won’t have to go far to chat about your visit over coffee!
Globenmuseum
Palais Mollard, Herrengasse 9, 1010 Vienna
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