Dorotheum

Austria’s oldest and largest auction house, the Dorotheum was founded by Emperor Joseph I in 1707. Today, there are several branches. Its headquarters in a large palace in the Dorotheergasse is a wonderful place to visit if you’re interested in antiques. Weekly auctions focus on a variety of goods, from Biedermeier furniture and fur coats to Baroque paintings and antique jewelry, which are exhibited in advance. Items that are not sold at auction automatically go into the Dorotheum’s permanent sales exhibits, and these floors are of particular interest for bargain hunters, as items are sold at a fraction of their estimated value.

Since being privatized in 2001, the Dorotheum has been openly addressing its ugly role during the Third Reich (Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany in 1938), when possessions belonging to thousands of deported Jews were auctioned off. The new management has realized that a key component of moving into the future is recognizing this terrible chapter (in 2006, a payment of $32 million, as a “General Restitution Fund for the Victims of National Socialism,” was issued), and today, a department researches the provenance of every object sold here.

Indagare Tip: If you’re interested in jewelry, skip the displays of new, well-known brands sold on the upper floors and head to the ground-floor bargain basement. Here, pieces that have been on display for a long time are discounted even more, and you can discover real treasures; on a recent visit I found an Art Nouveau enamel brooch and a beautifully crafted amber ring. Touring the Dorotheum is free of charge. Closed Sunday.