Judenplatz Holocaust Memorial

The Judenplatz Holocaust Memorial is a concrete block that commemorates more than 65,000 Austrian victims of the Jewish Holocaust. Also known as the Nameless Library, it stands at the same location in Judenplatz

Designed by the British artist Rachel Whiteread, It uses her signature ‘empty spaces’ style through the overturned books on the walls to emphasize on the tragedy. It helps create a sense of discomfort among the onlookers through void, an artistic expression quite opposite of Vienna’s usual Baroque style. The monument, also known as the Nameless Library, stands at the same location in Judenplatz where the medieval Or-Zarua synagogue once stood. Remains of the synagogue and the earliest Jewish communities in the district that were burned down in the Viennese Gezerah of 1420 have been excavated here. The Jewish Museum in the nearby Misrachi house has a permanent exhibition about the history of Judenplatz as well as the names, dates, and circumstances of the persecution of the Austrian Jews.