Aviaticum Aviation Museum Wiener Neustadt

South of Vienna, on the flat Steinfeld plain near Wiener Neustadt, Austrian aviation took off. Here the first hangars stood in 1909, here Igo Etrich tested his aircraft, and here one of the country’s most important aircraft manufacturing sites later arose. The Aviaticum Aviation Museum tells this story right where it happened: in a historic hangar at Wiener Neustadt/Ost airfield, where flying still goes on daily. It is not a huge museum, but one with exhibits you will hardly see elsewhere – from the Etrich Taube through an Me 109 in like-new condition to the balloon basket of a record flight.

From gliding museum to Aviaticum

The museum’s roots are not in Wiener Neustadt but in gliding. In 1983, the aviation pioneer Toni Kahlbacher and Hofrat (honorary title) DI Reinhard Keimel founded the association “Österreichisches Segelflugmuseum Hundsheim–Spitzerberg” (Austrian Gliding Museum). The Spitzerberg near Hainburg an der Donau is a gliding site with a long tradition, and that is where a museum for Austrian gliding was originally meant to be built. In the first years, the association collected exhibits, interviewed eyewitnesses and drew up exhibition concepts – almost all of it on a volunteer basis.

The plans at the Spitzerberg, however, could not be realized. After several attempts, the project found a home in Wiener Neustadt from 1993. This was made possible by a combination of the city, the state of Lower Austria, the aircraft manufacturer Diamond Aircraft and a specially founded private foundation, backed by Kahlbacher and the city of Wiener Neustadt. On June 3, 1999, the Aviaticum opened – according to the museum exactly 90 years after the first hangars were built at the airfield.

The first home was a hall of around 400 square meters belonging to Diamond Aircraft. In 2019 the lease expired, and the manufacturer needed the space itself. The collection then moved to a historic aircraft hangar on the opposite side of the runway. Since then the holdings have changed: some gliders, a helicopter and other exhibits that still turn up in older reports are, according to Wikipedia, no longer on site. If you are looking forward to a particular piece, ask beforehand.

How much work goes into small museums like this is shown in the article Volunteering in aviation museums.

Wiener Neustadt: the cradle of Austrian aviation

To understand the Aviaticum, it is worth looking at the place. The wide, flat area south of Vienna offered ideal conditions for aviation pioneers before World War I.

Etrich, Pischof and the pioneer years

In 1909, the first hangars were built on the Steinfeld plain. Igo Etrich built hangars here and continued testing with his monoplane Etrich I. In April 1910 came the first flight of the Etrich Taube, whose wing shape Etrich had copied from the winged seed of the climbing plant Zanonia. The result was an aircraft with remarkable inherent stability. According to the museum, the Taube was the first military aircraft of the k.u.k. (imperial and royal) Austro-Hungarian monarchy; in Germany, Rumpler built it under license, and later more than 40 companies built their own variants.

Other pioneers flew here too. In spring 1910, Alfred Ritter von Pischof took off with his Autoplan, powered by an Austro-Daimler car engine and with two seats. At Austro-Daimler, Ferdinand Porsche developed his first aircraft engine. Names such as Warchalowski are also part of the early history of the Steinfeld.

ÖFFAG and Messerschmitt

In 1915, the Österreichische Flugzeugfabrik (ÖFFAG) was founded, which built warplanes, flying boats and even early helicopter prototypes in World War I. According to Wikipedia, today’s Ost airfield was created in that year as the factory airfield of the Wiener Neustädter Flugzeugwerke.

In World War II, the Wiener Neustädter Flugzeugwerke became a central production site of the Messerschmitt Bf 109, which the museum consistently calls the Me 109. According to the museum, around a third of all Me 109s were built in Wiener Neustadt between 1938 and 1945. That made the works an important target for Allied bomber formations, and the city suffered heavy destruction.

From the war to today

After 1945, Simmering-Graz-Pauker worked on the cabin aircraft Meindl 222. From the 1980s, HOAC-Austria and later Diamond Aircraft continued the tradition. According to the museum, types such as the Super Dimona, the Katana and the Diamond Star are built in Wiener Neustadt today. The airfield itself is operated by Diamond.

The collection at a glance

The Aviaticum is a hangar museum: almost everything is under one roof, and the distances are short. Thematically, the exhibition spans from balloons and the pioneer era through gliding and early powered aircraft to more recent developments.

The Etrich Taube

The best-known silhouette in the museum is the Etrich Taube. The exhibit is a Type F military Taube, built according to Wikipedia by Heinz Linner and Anton Ott and carrying the registration OE-CET. The museum describes it as theoretically airworthy and certified. The characteristic swept-back wing with upturned tips makes it recognizable at first glance. For spotters, it is a textbook case: hardly any aircraft of the pioneer era produced so many replicas and license-built variants. How to classify aircraft of this era is explained in the article Recognizing vintage aircraft in the sky.

Autoplan and Demoiselle

Besides the Taube, two more replicas tell of the first years of flight. The Pischof Autoplan of 1910 can likewise be seen as a faithful replica. Add to that a replica of the Santos-Dumont Demoiselle, an extremely light monoplane that, according to Wikipedia, comes from what was then Czechoslovakia. Together, the three aircraft show how different the pioneers’ solutions looked.

Gliding: the root of the museum

Because the museum began as a gliding museum, gliding takes an important place. According to Wikipedia, an SG 38 with the registration OE-0107 belongs to the collection – the training glider on which generations of glider pilots made their first hops. Beside it stand early gliders, including a Lilienthal replica and a reconstruction after Leonardo da Vinci. If you are interested in the beginnings of gliding, you will find suitable further reading in the article on Otto Lilienthal and in the Otto Lilienthal Museum in Anklam. For gliding on a grand scale, the German Gliding Museum on the Wasserkuppe is the first address.

The Me 109 G-6 from the Kurt Steiner collection

The exhibit many visitors come for is the Messerschmitt Me 109 G-6. Behind it lies the story of a single collector. In September 1982, the wife of Ing. Kurt Steiner found metal parts on a walk in the woods that turned out to be aircraft wreckage. On further visits, engine parts came to light, and Steiner identified the crashed aircraft as a Messerschmitt Me 110. From then on, the technology of old aircraft engines never let go of him.

When he was able to acquire a Daimler-Benz DB 605 – the engine of the late Me 109 – the plan grew to rebuild a complete aircraft. Steiner procured wings and fuselage parts, restored original parts and had numerous components remanufactured to original plans. After many thousands of working hours, his family unveiled the aircraft on November 10, 2006, at the Aviaticum. According to the museum, it is in “like new” condition. Wikipedia gives the serial number 784998.

The G-6 was one of the most-built versions of the series. That a so well-preserved Me 109 stands in Wiener Neustadt of all places closes the circle with the city’s production history. For a direct comparison with other surviving examples, the Technik Museum Sinsheim or the Flieger-Flab-Museum Dübendorf are worthwhile, where the Swiss Air Force shows its own Bf 109 history.

Engines: an engine collection with depth

Kurt Steiner’s real passion is engines, and it shows. The engine collection is among the strongest areas of the Aviaticum. According to the museum, it includes, among others:

• Gnome-Rhône Monosoupape – an early rotary engine in which the whole cylinder star turns with the propeller
• Siemens-Halske Sh 14 – air-cooled seven-cylinder radial engine
• BMW 132 and BMW 801 – radial engines for transport and fighter aircraft
• Argus As 411 and Hirth 510
• Junkers Jumo 205, 211 and 213 – from the diesel aircraft engine to the V12 for bombers and fighters
• Daimler-Benz DB 603 and the DB 610, a 24-cylinder made of two coupled DB 605s
• Rolls-Royce Merlin – the V12 of the Spitfire and Lancaster
• Junkers Jumo 004 – the first jet engine built in series, powering the Me 262

For engine fans, this density is remarkable. You can follow the development from the rotary engine through the big piston engines of World War II to the first turbine within a few meters of exhibition space. The Merlin’s manufacturer is introduced on the page for Rolls-Royce. According to Wikipedia, a 1958 Link Trainer, an early flight simulator once used at Austrian Airlines, is also part of the collection.

Ballooning and records: Josef Starkbaum

An unassuming but historic exhibit is the balloon basket of Josef Starkbaum. According to the museum, the Austrian balloonist reached an altitude of 15,011 meters in 1989, setting a world altitude record. The basket and burner of this flight can be seen in the original. Starkbaum also won the Gordon Bennett Cup several times, the most traditional race for gas balloons.

Fittingly, the museum shows gas balloon technology, including, according to Wikipedia, a Riedinger balloon and a one-man basket of Starkbaum’s. Balloons are only a footnote in many aviation museums – here they belong to the core story.

Women in aviation and uniforms

The museum also presents female pilots who shaped aviation. These include Melli Beese, in 1911 the first woman with a pilot’s license in Germany, Lilly Steinschneider, one of the first female pilots of the Danube Monarchy, who won a speed competition in 1913, Amelia Earhart with her solo Atlantic crossing in 1932, the Briton Joan Hughes, who at 17 in 1935 was considered Britain’s youngest pilot, and Beate Uhse, who flew ferry flights during the war.

In addition, the Aviaticum shows historic uniforms.

Spotting at Wiener Neustadt/Ost airfield

What sets the Aviaticum apart from many other museums: flying goes on outside the door. Wiener Neustadt/Ost airfield has an asphalt runway 09/27 of 1,067 meters in length, is uncontrolled and designed for visual flight. Diamond Aircraft is the operator, and according to Wikipedia it is used by flight schools and clubs, among others, as well as by the air rescue service, which has had a base here since 1984 and stations the helicopters Christophorus 3 and Christophorus 33.

For you, that means: with a little luck, after your museum visit you will see Diamond types like the DA40, DA42 or DA62, club aircraft with OE registrations and rescue helicopters – tips in the article Spotting helicopters. It cannot be planned, and large airliners do not land here. How to approach small fields sensibly is covered in the article Spotting general aviation; the system of Austrian registrations is explained in the article on OE registrations.

Photographing at the Aviaticum

A hangar museum brings its own challenges: mixed light, tight spacing between exhibits and shiny surfaces.

The museum website names no photo rules of its own. For private shots, the usual applies: respect barriers, don’t climb on exhibits and, for commercial projects, ask the museum beforehand.

Planning your visit

The Aviaticum is at Ost airfield in the north of Wiener Neustadt; the address, according to the museum, is Wiener Straße 120, 2700 Wiener Neustadt, next to the Fliegerstüberl (pilots’ pub).

• Opening hours: May 1 to October 31 on weekends and public holidays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The rest of the year by appointment only.
• Admission: Adults €7, children under 14 and seniors €4. Free once with the Niederösterreich-CARD. All information as of October 2026.
• Tours: Groups of six or more on request by email, also outside the season.
• Duration: One to two hours is usually enough for the exhibition and engine collection; with spotting at the field, it becomes half a day.

Check the times on the website before your visit, because a small museum run by volunteers occasionally has to replan at short notice.

Combining the Aviaticum and Vienna Airport

If you travel to Wiener Neustadt, you have Austria’s largest airport within reach. Vienna Schwechat Airport lies in the east of Vienna and offers scheduled, cargo and long-haul traffic. Good starting points are the observation deck and the spotter hill; all locations are collected in the Vienna guide. A weekend with the museum on Saturday and Schwechat on Sunday is quite doable. A bit further east, Bratislava Airport beckons.

For a museum tour through Austria, Hangar-7 in Salzburg with its Flying Bulls fleet is a fitting counterpart: gleaming, airworthy classics there, pioneer history at its place of origin here. Fans of military aviation combine the Aviaticum with AIRPOWER in Zeltweg when it takes place. Across the border, the Prague-Kbely Aviation Museum is worthwhile, and for Germany the article Aviation museums in Germany gives an overview.

Conclusion

The Aviaticum is a small museum with great history behind it. It stands where Igo Etrich tested his aircraft from 1909, where the ÖFFAG built flying boats and where a large share of all Me 109s were built in World War II. From a gliding collector’s project of the 1980s, a house has emerged that makes these eras tangible through a few well-chosen exhibits.

For spotters, the reconstructed Etrich Taube, the Me 109 G-6 from the Kurt Steiner collection, the engine collection and Starkbaum’s record basket are the highlights. You have to plan around the short season and modest size. In return, you get an inexpensive, personal museum visit with real flight operations outside the hangar door.