Friends of the Natural History Museum Vienna

The Freunde des Naturhistorischen Museums (Friends of the Natural History Museum Vienna) is a non-profit association based in Vienna, Austria, dedicated to supporting the Naturhistorisches Museum Wien (NHM Wien) across all levels of its activities. According to its official website, the association has existed since 1923 and describes itself as a Non Profit Organisation whose goal is to promote the museum and its work. It is a membership-based organisation: members receive free admission to the Natural History Museum Vienna and to the Fossilienwelt Weinviertel, and can take part in a varied events programme. The association's support for the museum is both financial and material. Its website states that it repeatedly assists the NHM Wien with the purchase of objects and collections as well as by financing research projects. This makes the Friends a philanthropic partner to one of Austria's largest and most important museums, helping to expand collections and underwrite scientific work that might otherwise lack dedicated funding. As a Verein (registered association) rather than a commercial company, the Friends operate as a non-profit entity. Its public-facing activities centre on membership recruitment, member benefits and events, and fundraising for acquisitions and research. The organisation maintains its own website at freunde.nhm-wien.ac.at, separate from the museum's main site at nhm.at, where museum opening hours and visitor information are published. The Friends of the Natural History Museum Vienna should not be confused with the museum itself: it is an independent support association, not a department of the NHM Wien. Its identity is tied to the museum's name and mission, and its brand is that of a membership society and fundraising body for the museum.

The Freunde des Naturhistorischen Museums traces its origins to 1923, when the association was established in Vienna. Its official website states that the Friends of the Natural History Museum Vienna have existed since 1923 as a Non Profit Organisation with the aim of promoting the museum and its activities at all levels. The founding took place in the context of the Naturhistorisches Museum Wien, one of the world's major natural history museums, whose collections and research the association was created to support. Over the decades the association has functioned as a bridge between the museum and the public, offering membership and a programme of events while channelling private support into the museum's work. According to its website, the Friends repeatedly support the NHM Wien with the purchase of objects and collections and by financing research projects. This dual role — acquisitions and research subsidies — is presented as a core part of the association's purpose. Membership carries tangible benefits. The website states that members receive free admission to the Naturhistorisches Museum Wien and to the Fossilienwelt Weinviertel, and can enjoy a rich events programme. The association also directs prospective members to the museum's own site for opening hours and visitor information, underlining its separate but complementary identity. As of the available evidence, the Friends remain an active non-profit association based in Vienna, with its own website at freunde.nhm-wien.ac.at. The organisation is distinct from the museum itself: it is a support society, not a museum department, and its brand identity is built on membership, philanthropy and advocacy for the NHM Wien.

• 1923

  The association Freunde des Naturhistorischen Museums is founded in Vienna as a non-profit organisation supporting the NHM Wien.

Non-profit membership association and philanthropic supporter of the Natural History Museum Vienna.

• Membership

  Annual membership of the association, including free admission to the Naturhistorisches Museum Wien and the Fossilienwelt Weinviertel and access to the events programme.

• Acquisitions and subsidies

  Financial support for the museum's purchase of objects and collections and for research projects.

1. 1Willkommen – Freunde des Naturhistorischen Museumsfreunde.nhm-wien.ac.at
2. 2Freunde des Naturhistorischen Museums – Wikidatawikidata.org