Visitor numbers at the museum dedicated to Austrian military history hit a new record of more than 248,000 last year- overtaking the previous high of 244,638 in 2015.
The First World War was again a significant draw, the Vienna-based Museum of Military History says, also pointing to the appeal of its aviation and nautical branches.
The museum’s WW1 galleries were enlarged and comprehensively redesigned for the Centenary, allowing many more exhibits to be shown.
Archduke Franz Ferdinand’s bullet-holed car sits prominently at the entrance, a vivid reminder of how the assassination of the heir to Austro-Hungarian throne in June 1914 triggered a global conflict.
Displayed nearby are the pistols carried by the gunmen in Sarajevo, and the Archduke’s blood-stained uniform.
As Centenary News can testify, after visiting in 2016, the Museum of Military History offers a view of the Great War in the Alps and expanses of Eastern Europe that contrasts markedly with the ‘mud and trenches’ of the Western Front.
As part of its Centenary programme, the musem also devised a travelling exhibition to help build on interest in the First World War after the surge of opening commemorations.
2018 marks the 100th anniversary of Austria becoming a republic after the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in November 1918.
The Museum of Military History – Heeresgeschichtliches Museum, or HGM, in German – is located in a former arsenal at Ghegastraße to the south of central Vienna.
Source: Heeresgeschichtliches Museum
Images: Centenary News
Posted by: CN Editorial Team