Gold museum traces the metal’s journey from stardust to treasure

The new exhibition at the Austrian National Bank’s money museum in Vienna explores the history of gold in ten chapters, from stardust to treasure, ORF reports. It opened on Tuesday and will remain on display until June 25, 2027.

“Gold was created more than five billion years ago through supernova explosions or collisions between neutron stars. In a figurative sense, gold really is stardust,” Austrian National Bank Director Josef Meichenitsch said in a statement.

People have long associated gold with the sun, the divine and luxury. The metal remains a symbol of wealth, power, status and permanence, according to the bank.

The exhibition also examines gold as jewellery, currency and a medical product. The Austrian National Bank holds 280 tonnes of gold as part of its currency reserves.

Money museum to close for renovations

After the special exhibition closes, the money museum will shut for renovation work until early 2029. The museum will be redesigned, with its publicly accessible areas intended to become more welcoming and easier to access.

The exhibition, titled “Stardust: The World of Gold”, is being held at the Austrian National Bank’s main building at Otto Wagner Platz 3 in Vienna. Admission is free.

The modernisation is part of a wider process through which the Austrian National Bank plans to open up more in the coming years. Digitalisation is also central to its new strategy. The bank supports the digital euro as a supplement to cash and plans to use artificial intelligence to simplify administrative work and processes.

The modernisation also coincides with the bank’s 210th anniversary this year. It was founded on June 1, 1816, after the Napoleonic Wars to stabilise state finances and restore the monetary and financial system. The bank is one of the world’s oldest central banks.