The Narrenturm (''Fool's Tower'') in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

is continental Europe's oldest building for the accommodation of psychiatric patients. Built in 1784, it is next to the site of the old

Vienna General Hospital The Vienna General Hospital (german: Allgemeines Krankenhaus der Stadt Wien), usually abbreviated to AKH, is the general hospital of the city of Vienna, Austria. It is also the city's university hospital, and the site of the Medical Unive ...

, and is now home to the Federal Pathologic-Anatomical Museum Vienna (Pathologisch-anatomisches Bundesmuseum Wien).

The building

The Narrenturm was constructed in 1784, under

Emperor Joseph II Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 un ...

, by Isidore Canevale. It consisted of a five-story, fortress-like circular building with 28 rooms and a ring of slit windows, plus a central chamber aligned north-to-south. There were in total 139 individual cells for the inmates. The building of the Narrenturm was prompted by the discovery of underground dungeons used by the Capuchin monks of Vienna for housing their mentally ill brethren; another factor was that Joseph II had learned about similar institutions in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

during his travels there. The construction of the Narrenturm points to a new attitude towards the mentally ill – they began to be distinguished from the rest of society, and not simply classified among the general category of "the poor". Each cell had strong, barred doors as well as chains for restraining inmates. By the late 1790s, the tower had been made fully obsolete by changes in the way psychiatric patients were treated. When it was first built, the Narrenturm had a

lightning rod A lightning rod or lightning conductor (British English) is a metal rod mounted on a structure and intended to protect the structure from a lightning strike. If lightning hits the structure, it will preferentially strike the rod and be conducte ...

or "lightning catcher" installed on the roof ridge. In that time

Václav Prokop Diviš Václav () is a Czech male first name of Slavic origin, sometimes translated into English as Wenceslaus or Wenceslas. These forms are derived from the old Slavic/Czech form of this name: Venceslav. Nicknames are: Vašek, Vašík, Venca, Venda For ...

, a clergyman in Přímětice near

Znojmo Znojmo (; german: Znaim) is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 33,000 inhabitants. Znojmo is the historical and cultural centre of southwestern Moravia and the second most populated town in the South Moravian R ...

, had studied plant growth and treatment with electrical currents present, publishing his findings to the medical community.

The museum

The tower is currently home to the Federal Pathologic-Anatomical Museum, founded by

Emperor Francis II Francis II (german: Franz II.; 12 February 1768 – 2 March 1835) was the last Holy Roman Emperor (from 1792 to 1806) and the founder and Emperor of the Austrian Empire, from 1804 to 1835. He assumed the title of Emperor of Austria in response ...

in 1796 as the "Museum of the Pathologic-Anatomical Institute". It has been a national museum (''Bundesmuseum'') since 1974.

References

{{Authority control Former psychiatric hospitals Museums in Vienna Buildings and structures in Alsergrund Museums established in 1971 Medical museums Science museums in Austria Medical and health organisations based in Austria

The building

The museum

See also

References