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All Austria

The Atlas Obscura Guide To Austria

132 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Austria

Updated May 29, 2023

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Cities

Vienna
The Water-Powered Mechanical Theater with nearly 200 moving wood carvings
Salzburg
Graz
Chamber of Art and Curiosities.
Innsbruck
Hallstatt Charnel House
Hallstatt
Klagenfurt
Attractions
Food & Drink
Map
Leaderboards
Stories

Unusual Attractions in Austria

The library lobby

Vienna, Austria

Österreichische Nationalbibliothek (Austrian National Library)

The beautiful baroque library of the Hapsburg empire.

Vienna, Austria

Stephansdom Crypt

The crypt of the imposing Stephensdom holds royal intestines and thousands of skeletons.

Vienna, Austria

Habsburg Imperial Crypt

The final resting place for the remains of 143 Habsburg royalty.

Vienna, Austria

Schmetterlinghaus: The Imperial Butterfly Park

A tropical paradise just a short trip from the opera house is filled with beautiful winged creatures.
Augustinian Friar's Astrological Clock - one of the hands takes 20,000 years to revolve.

Vienna, Austria

Clock Museum

A small museum filled with over 1,000 clocks, and one particular clock calibrated to run until the year 9999.
Mummified head of a murderer with blond hair

Vienna, Austria

Kriminalmuseum

Macabre museum devoted to historical Viennese murders.
Apotheosis of St Carlo Borromeo

Vienna, Austria

Karlskirche (St. Charles's Church)

Built to give thanks for the passing of a plague epidemic, this cathedral is a one-of-a-kind architectural hybrid.
Anatomical pathology collection

Vienna, Austria

The Narrenturm

This former insane asylum now holds a pathological anatomy museum.
See All 132 Things To Do in Austria

Cool Places to Eat & Drink in Austria

Vienna, Austria

Palmenhaus

Dine amidst exotic plants at this former royal greenhouse.
Starkenberger

Tarrenz, Austria

Starkenberger Beer Pools

Where beer lovers can literally immerse themselves in beer.
The interior of the cafe.

Vienna, Austria

Justizcafe

A rooftop restaurant hides in plain sight atop Vienna's Palace of Justice.
Omas and Opas at work.

Vienna, Austria

Vollpension

Visiting this café is like visiting the Austrian grandma you wish you had.
See all 8 Places to Eat in Austria
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Explore Austria

Museums And Collections 19
Art 15
Sacred Spaces 14
Churches 13
Architectural Oddities 12
Collections 11
Memento Mori 11
History & Culture 10
Catacombs And Crypts 9
Water 7
Statues 7
Outsider Architecture 6
Unique Restaurants & Bars 4
Places To Stay 4

Austria Leaderboard

Places Added

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    atimian
    4
  4. Avatar image for Fred Cherrygarden
    Fred Cherrygarden
    3
  5. Avatar image for michelle
    michelle
    3
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Add an unusual place to Austria.

Places Edited

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    gingercinnamon
    34
  2. Avatar image for Sebastian Wortys
    Sebastian Wortys
    20
  3. Avatar image for Rachel
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  5. Avatar image for Annetta Black
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Places Visited

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    klanggalerie
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  3. Avatar image for Kolar
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  5. A
    alfran
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Recent Austria Activity

  • E

    egckull

    wants to go to St. Peter Stiftskulinarium

  • Avatar image for andyhartsmith

    andyhartsmith

    wants to go to St. Peter Stiftskulinarium

  • Avatar image for reley250

    reley250

    wants to go to St. Peter Stiftskulinarium

  • Avatar image for henders1975

    henders1975

    has been to Wiener Pestsäule (Vienna Plague Column)

  • C

    clareelisepadgett

    wants to go to Cemetery of the Nameless

Stories About Austria

A handstein, circa 1740 from Hungary, in the German Mining Museum in Bochum.

The Raw Ore Centerpieces That Turned Grueling Labor Into Cutesy Dioramas

Handsteins were beloved of 16th-century princes because they affirmed the social order.
by Eve Kahn
June 22, 2021
A 14th-century painting of Saint Corona by the Master of Palazzo Venezia Madonna.

Is Saint Corona a Guardian Against Epidemics?

Well, she might be now, at least.
by Matthew Taub
March 31, 2020
The world's largest wine bottle held 1,590 liters of Austrian red wine—until recently.

The World's Largest Bottle of Wine Just Spilled in Austria

We're gonna need a bigger napkin.
by Luke Fater
February 20, 2020
Archaeologists found these Late Bronze Age feeding vessels in Vösendorf, Austria.

Found: Milk Residue That Proves Ancient Europeans Used Cute-as-Heck Baby Bottles

The clay vessels are shaped like mythical animals.
by Reina Gattuso
October 1, 2019
They look familiar...

In the Bronze Age, People Labored Over Cereal That No One Ate

They probably used the Cheerio-like rings in rituals, not the kitchen.
by Sabrina Imbler
June 10, 2019
Bibi and Poldi having a tense moment.

The Celebrity Tortoise Breakup That Rocked the World

In 2011, after nearly a century together, Galápagos tortoises Bibi and Poldi called it quits. We still don’t know why.
by Cara Giaimo
February 13, 2019
Train workers free the trapped chamois.

Watch Austrian Train Workers Leap to the Rescue of a Snowed-In Goat

After their wave of plowed snow stopped it in its tracks.
by Noor Al-Samarrai
January 11, 2019
A cockroach.

A Guy in Austria Tried to Enter a Court Building With a Jar of Roaches

He was turned away.
by Erik Shilling
March 1, 2017

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