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In
1938 Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, fled to
England to escape when Nazi Germany annexed Austria.
He and his family settled in
this red-brick house in Hampstead. The family brought
all their furniture and household effects to London and these
were used to recreate Freud's consulting rooms in Vienna.
It was here that Freud finished
his final work, 'Moses and Monotheism'. Among his visitors
were Salvador Dalí and H.G. Wells.
Following Freud's death in 1939
his daughter Anna, a pioneer of child psychoanalysis, kept
the house unchanged. In 1986, four years after Anna's
death, the house was opened as a museum dedicated to Freud.
The house retains its domestic
feel and has the character of early-20th century Vienna.
It is furnished with some Biedemeier and 19th century Austrian
painted furniture, and oriental rugs cover the floor and tables.
The centrepiece of the house
is Freud's ground-floor study, preserved as it was this and
contains his large library and collection of Egyptian, Greek,
Roman and Oriental antiquities, as well as the famous couch
on which Freud's patients lay for analysis. The dining
room has painted Austrian peasant furniture and photographs
of Freud's apartment in Vienna. On the stairs are two
portraits of Freud, one by Salvador Dalí.
One room upstairs is devoted
to temporary exhibitions whilst another celebrates the life
and work of Anna Freud.
A compilation of 1930s home movies
are shown of the Freud family in Vienna, Paris and London.
These include happy moments with the family's dog as well
as scenes of Nazi attacks on his apartment in Vienna.
The shop stocks Freud souvenirs
and many of his books.
Admission charge
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