In the Museum Depot

A Visit to the Prater Whale

The inn Zum Walfisch, founded as early as 1782, was a true Prater institution and, for generations, a cherished destination for Viennese patrons. Above its entrance, a nine-metre-long whale—installed in the early 1950s—delighted visitors with its playful water fountain, captivating not least the younger among them. In 2013, however, the restaurant closed its doors, and with it seemed to come the end of the whale.

Thanks to the commitment of a dedicated entrepreneur, the figure was saved from destruction and ultimately found its way into the Vienna Museum. There, the conservator Regula Küenzli and her team undertook the careful restoration of the metallic giant. We visited the whale following its restoration in November 2019 at the museum’s storage facility.

This article was first published in 2019 in the Vienna Museum Magazine.

Photos © Schmalvogl Family

December 2023

In December 2023, we encounter the whale once again—this time within the newly reopened Vienna Museum. Suspended beneath the ceiling of the entrance hall, the several-tonne whale “Poldi” assumes a central role as an iconic anchor object.

The monumental figure, among the museum’s most prominent exhibits, was brought into the new building in a spectacular operation and is now deliberately staged as a striking focal point for visitors—an emblem of the “new” Vienna Museum and its narrative approach.