Josephinum Medical Museum

One of the best collections of wax anatomical models in the world

Once an academy for aspiring imperial army surgeons, the Josephinum is now a medical museum housing the second largest collection of wax anatomical models in the world, and the largest collection of wax obstetric models. Protected in their original rosewood and venetian glass displays from the late 1700s, the 1,192 models of dismembered body parts and whole figures were created to train medical students in an age when corpse dissection was still messy, inconvenient and, in some places, illegal. The details are exquisitely accurate, down to the wax-dipped thread serving as veins and arteries.

Arguably the most beautiful model is the Anatomical Venus. The wax woman, inspired by the goddess of beauty, lies supine in a glass coffin with her chest splayed open to reveal her inner workings. With long hair, eyelashes, pearls and a gold headband, this gutted Snow White is an exquisite example of the 18th century marriage of art and science. The museum also has a large collection of early medical instruments.