The new Weltmuseum Wien is Open! | Austria
![](/asemus-files/WeltMuseum-Wien-Reopens-2-C-Daniel-Auer-220x146.jpg)
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In his speech Austrian President Alexander van der Bellen declared that he was already very fond of this “wonderful, new place of encounter”. While stressing that Austria “virtually had no colonial past”, he still pointed out that any encounter with other cultures was once usually characterised by a “patronising sense of supremacy”. In his words, the new Weltmuseum Wien is not only intended to encounter others at eye level but also to “see ourselves with different eyes”.
Aside from guests from the world of diplomacy, politics, and business, guests of honour included British actress Tilda Swinton as well as the two world-famous directors Wes Anderson and Michael Haneke.
The Weltmuseum Wien – formerly the Museum of Ethnology – houses comprehensive collections of ethnographic objects, historical photographs, and books on non-European civilisations, making it one of the leading ethnographic museums in the world.
Following t
he three-year renovation, the Weltmuseum Wien's permanent exhibition has been redesigned from the ground up. Strung together like a chain of pearls, the series of stories told in the fourteen galleries feature the core of the permanent exhibition combined with contemporary interpretations.
For additional information about the museum's reopening, please visit https://www.weltmuseumwien.at/en/reopening/
The profile of Weltmuseum Wien on ASEMUS' website is available at http://asemus.museum/museum/weltmuseum-wien/
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Pictured above: images of the Weltmuseum Wien's re-opening event, including Dr. Sabine Haag, General Director of the Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien; and Dr. Steven Engelsman, Director of Weltmuseum Wien, with guests. Images by Daniel Auer and Günther Langegger
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