UKTV - Museum Secrets Collection (2012) Part 5 Kunshistorisches Museum, Vienna

Museum Secrets: Collection

On a quest to find the best, and most obscure, museum exhibits and explore the secrets they hold, Museum Secrets uncovers the weird, the astonishing and fascinating wonders of the world. What unexpected device did Catherine the Great use to enhance her sex life? Why did Alexander the Great prefer linen armour to bronze? And how did the falcon hunting of the Habsburg emperors lay the foundations for modern science? Testing out the theories behind the artifacts and visiting the sites they originated from, this series combines pure enthralling history with surprising detective work.

Part 5: Kunshistorisches Museum, Vienna The Kunsthistorisches Museum is a treasury of antiquities and weaponry collected by the royal family known as the Habsburgs - a dynasty that ruled much of Europe for 500 years. In this episode, we visit the crypt that entombs many generations of the Habsburg royal family, then meet a geneticist who is attempting to discover how inbreeding led to their demise. We go hunting with falcons to discover how one Habsburg emperor's hobby laid the foundation for modern science, then recreate the alchemical experiment that led another emperor to believe that silver could be transmuted into gold. While learning the proper way to do the Viennese waltz, we discover how a dance craze impacted European history, then recreate a strange piece of ancient armour to find out how and why it was designed to explode. And finally, we meet a detective who takes us on the trail of a thief who stole the museum's most valuable treasure.

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