Vienna Press Release – December 2024 Explore Jewish Vienna with the city guide app “ivie”

December 3, 2024 - With around 25 city walks and guides and more than 1,000 entries on attractions and useful places to go, ivie, the Vienna Tourist Board’s city guide app, is the perfect companion for your visit to Vienna. Already downloaded over 1.3 million times, ivie now allows users to retrace the history of Jewish Vienna. Hidden cemeteries, exciting museums and the origins of the state of Israel are all waiting to be discovered.

The Jewish Vienna guide, available free of charge in ivie, the city guide app for Vienna takes you on an expedition through the city. There are 13 locations to explore, ranging from museums and entire districts to memorials and restaurants. The guide reveals how Vienna and Judaism have been inextricably linked for centuries.

Discover 13 special locations

There are unique museums to discover, such as the Jewish Museum Vienna, the Sigmund Freud Museum and the Viktor Frankl Museum, as well as memorials such as the Shoah Wall of Names: Vienna’s newest and largest Holocaust memorial, which was completed in 2021. The names of all the 65,000 or so Austrian Jews who were murdered have been engraved on the natural stone walls.

The Karmeliterviertel with its Jewish character is also featured in this guide, as are cemeteries with special atmospheres, such as the Old Jewish Cemetery at the Vienna Central Cemetery and the mysterious Rossau Jewish Cemetery. This cemetery is the oldest surviving Jewish cemetery in Austria. It is hidden away in an inner courtyard in Vienna’s 9th district – a real insider tip. The Stadttempel, Vienna’s main synagogue, is also not to be missed.

In the footsteps of Zionism

The original grave in which Theodor Herzl was buried in 1904 at the Döbling Cemetery also takes center stage – ivie reveals why this grave is empty today. The Jewish Vienna guide also honors Herzl’s most important colleague, Viennese architect Oskar Marmorek. He planned the famous Rüdigerhof, for example – an Art Nouveau jewel that is home to the café of the same name, an establishment that is steeped in history.

A long history

The Jewish community has been shaping Vienna since the Middle Ages, whether it be in culture, the sciences or business. By 1900, Vienna even had one of the largest Jewish communities in Europe. World-renowned Jewish personalities such as Sigmund Freud and Arnold Schönberg worked in Vienna before being driven out by the Nazis in the 1930s. Vienna was the center of Theodor Herzl’s life. He is regarded as the founder of political Zionism and the spiritual father of Israel. This guide will lead you to the most important locations of Jewish Vienna.

The whole of Vienna on your smartphone: become a Vienna expert with ivie

The Vienna Tourist Board’s ivie destination app has already been downloaded over 1.3 million times – it had around half a million active users in 2023 alone. It is available free of charge in German and English for iOS and Android. Around 25 walks and guided tours provide information on famous Viennese figures and landmarks such as Sigmund Freud, Sisi, the Ringstrasse or Ludwig van Beethoven and Johann Strauss Sohn, as well as modern architecture, life in Vienna’s neighborhoods, unusual museums and highlights for the LGBTIQ+ community. Children will enjoy it just as much as fans of the morbid side of Vienna and those interested in history or music.

Overview of key locations

More than 1,000 entries covering attractions, exciting experiences and useful information such as locations of drinking fountains and public toilets throughout the city make a city trip to Vienna an exciting journey of discovery. ivie is also a practical companion for Viennese locals, introducing them to lesser-known corners of their city. The range of walks and guides is constantly being expanded. The app can also be used to buy a Vienna City Card. This card offers free travel on Vienna’s public transport and many discounts for museums, attractions, cultural events, restaurants and accommodation. Being the world’s first environmentally certified guest card, the Vienna City Card is the ideal complement to the app.

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