Quirky museums vie for attention with Vienna's grand galleries
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Domestic heaters are seen at the Brennpunkt museum (Museum of Heating) in Vienna on Oct 3, 2012. -- PHOTO: AFP
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The entrance of the Brennpunkt museum (Museum of Heating) is seen in Vienna on Oct 3, 2012. -- PHOTO: AFP
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A gas cooker (Right) from the 1940's is seen at the Brennpunkt museum (Museum of Heating) in Vienna on Oct 3, 2012. -- PHOTO: AFP
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Funeral urns are seen at the Funeral museum (Bestattungsmuseum Wien) in Vienna on Oct 4, 2012. -- PHOTO: AFP
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Coffins are seen at the Funeral museum of Vienna (Bestattungsmuseum Wien) on Oct 4, 2012. -- PHOTO: AFP
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A coffin inspired by Belgian painter Rene Magritte creation "Perspective : Madame Recamier de David" is seen at the Funeral museum of Vienna (Bestattungsmuseum Wien) on Oct 4, 2012. -- PHOTO: AFP
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Coffins are seen at the Funeral museum of Vienna (Bestattungsmuseum Wien) on Oct 4, 2012. -- PHOTO: AFP
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Dentistry chairs are seen at the Dentistry museum of Vienna (Zahnmuseum Wien) on Oct 4, 2012. -- PHOTO: AFP
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A dentist's chair is seen at the Dentistry museum of Vienna (Zahnmuseum Wien) on Oct 4, 2012. -- PHOTO: AFP
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A mortician's hearse is seen at the Funeral museum of Vienna (Bestattungsmuseum Wien) on Oct 4, 2012. -- PHOTO: AFP
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Teeth and dental prosthesis equipments are seen at the Dentistry museum of Vienna (Zahnmuseum Wien) on Oct 4, 2012. -- PHOTO: AFP
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A dentist's chair is seen at the Dentistry museum of Vienna (Zahnmuseum Wien) on October 4, 2012. Fascinated by contraception, chimneysweeps, or magic boxes? Vienna has a museum for you. -- PHOTO: AFP
Domestic heaters are seen at the Brennpunkt museum (Museum of Heating) in Vienna on Oct 3, 2012. -- PHOTO: AFP
The entrance of the Brennpunkt museum (Museum of Heating) is seen in Vienna on Oct 3, 2012. -- PHOTO: AFP
A gas cooker (Right) from the 1940's is seen at the Brennpunkt museum (Museum of Heating) in Vienna on Oct 3, 2012. -- PHOTO: AFP
Funeral urns are seen at the Funeral museum (Bestattungsmuseum Wien) in Vienna on Oct 4, 2012. -- PHOTO: AFP
Coffins are seen at the Funeral museum of Vienna (Bestattungsmuseum Wien) on Oct 4, 2012. -- PHOTO: AFP
A coffin inspired by Belgian painter Rene Magritte creation "Perspective : Madame Recamier de David" is seen at the Funeral museum of Vienna (Bestattungsmuseum Wien) on Oct 4, 2012. -- PHOTO: AFP
Coffins are seen at the Funeral museum of Vienna (Bestattungsmuseum Wien) on Oct 4, 2012. -- PHOTO: AFP
Dentistry chairs are seen at the Dentistry museum of Vienna (Zahnmuseum Wien) on Oct 4, 2012. -- PHOTO: AFP
A dentist's chair is seen at the Dentistry museum of Vienna (Zahnmuseum Wien) on Oct 4, 2012. -- PHOTO: AFP
A mortician's hearse is seen at the Funeral museum of Vienna (Bestattungsmuseum Wien) on Oct 4, 2012. -- PHOTO: AFP
Teeth and dental prosthesis equipments are seen at the Dentistry museum of Vienna (Zahnmuseum Wien) on Oct 4, 2012. -- PHOTO: AFP
A dentist's chair is seen at the Dentistry museum of Vienna (Zahnmuseum Wien) on October 4, 2012. Fascinated by contraception, chimneysweeps, or magic boxes? Vienna has a museum for you. -- PHOTO: AFP
VIENNA (AFP) - Fascinated by contraception, chimney sweeps, or magic boxes? Vienna has a museum for you.
The city may be better known for its grand art collections, but it is filled with quirky or downright bizarre establishments, and Museum Night, which Vienna will hold on Saturday for the 13th time, is their chance to shine.
Far off the beaten track, in a grey residential area, stands Vienna's hottest museum as it calls itself: the bright orange Brennpunkt - the Museum of Heating. Gleaming pipes and large boilers share this colourful space with delicate old wood stoves, blackened iron bread ovens and century-old utensils for cooking and lighting fires from Tanzania to Borneo.
Brennpunkt, German for "burning point", emerged from Vienna's switch to district heating when the city found itself with a mass of old coal and oil heaters on its hands and decided to preserve this part of its history. And this is how many other small museums saw the light of day, from the Coffee Museum - filled with all manner of coffee grinders and espresso machines - to the Circus and Clown Museum, to the Chimneysweep Museum, naturally packed with an array of round brushes, and the Dentistry Museum, which features dentist's chairs dating back to the early 1800s.
