Context Travel, organizer of critically acclaimed walking tours, unveils a new experience that places the history of Vienna’s Jewish community front and center.

A new 3-hour Jewish Vienna Tour visits the historical sites of Jewish life and memorialization in Austria’s capital in order to trace their story—a centuries-long narrative that spans the spectrum from triumphant success to devastating loss.

Judenplatz is now the site of Vienna's Holocaust Memorial, erected in remembrance of the persecution and loss of the city's Jewish community during the Second World War.

The walk begins in front of the City Temple in the First District of Vienna, a gem of Biedermaier architecture and an active cultural center today. This acts as the launching pad for our journey back through the centuries, as we visit to the Holocaust Memorial to contemplate the most recent tragedies of Austrian Jews before crossing the Danube to explore the Second District. Winding through this historical center of the Jewish community in Vienna, we’ll hear the stories of the city’s famous residents who once brought this area to life, including: Viktor Frankl, Theodor Herzl, and Sigmund Freud.

The Donaukanal (Danube Canal) is a tributary of the mighty river that separates Vienna's first and second districts.

“Interest in Jewish 20th-century history is stronger than ever, especially among visitors to Central Europe,” says Stephanie Taralson, Context’s Program Manager for Central Europe. “The communities in this region have certainly suffered and we want to address that; but this walk also looks at how influential Vienna’s Jews have been historically for the city’s art, culture and science. We want to take a nuanced look at what makes the Jewish experience in this city unique.”

The Jewish Vienna Tour lasts three hours and is available Monday through Sunday. Group walks cost 92€ per person. Private tours cost 385€ per party. As with all Context walking tours, both group and private walks are limited to (6) six participants and are led by a credentialed expert.

Founded by National Geographic writer Paul Bennett and designer Lani Bevacqua, Context Travel is a network of English-speaking scholars and professionals, including art historians, writers, architects and gastronomes, who organize and lead “walking seminars” in many world cities, including: Florence, Rome, Venice, Naples, Paris, London, Edinburgh, Stockholm, Madrid,Dublin, Barcelona, Berlin, New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Washington, D.C., Istanbul, Athens, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Shanghai, Amsterdam, Beijing, Tokyo and Kyoto.