Narrenturm

A 1784 circular brick tower in the grounds of the old Vienna General Hospital, originally a psychiatric institution and now a Pathological Anatomy Museum holding 50,000 medical specimens — among the largest such collections in the world. Wet specimens of every imaginable malformation, infection, and tumour fill the original cell-rooms in glass jars.

It is not for the squeamish. Guided tours run on certain days; check the schedule. Part of the Naturhistorisches Museum, but in a building completely different in spirit.

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A story
The Narrenturm — the 'Fools' Tower' — was Europe's first purpose-built psychiatric hospital, opened in 1784. The circular five-storey building had 139 cells, each with a fixed cuff for the patient. After it closed it became a barracks, a flat, and finally a pathological anatomy museum holding 50,000 medical specimens — one of the world's largest such collections.

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