Ukrainian Doctors Explore Vienna's Pathological-Anatomical Collection

On 6 May, a group of Ukrainian doctors from the Safavi Institut visited the Narrenturm in Vienna's 9th district, accompanied by their course instructor Christiane Karl. The group is currently in the middle of their Medical German course – and this excursion was learning in its most immediate form.

The Narrenturm is no ordinary museum. Built in 1784 by Emperor Joseph II as Europe's first dedicated psychiatric institution, it now houses the world's largest pathological-anatomical collection, with around 50,000 exhibits – specimens, wax moulds, and disease records spanning two centuries of medical history. The former patient cells have become exhibition rooms; the architecture itself tells the story.

For the Ukrainian doctors – clinically experienced, but still building their German medical vocabulary – the visit was a genuine challenge: suddenly having to describe findings in German, search for the right diagnoses, discuss. Christiane Karl guided the group through the collection, using the exhibits as immediate teaching material.

That is precisely what the Safavi Institut stands for: learning a language not in the abstract, but exactly where it is needed.