The Scots Abbey was founded in 1155. Since then, it has been home to Benedictine monks. In the beginning, the Benedictines came from Ireland, which was called Scotia Major at the time. The present-day name is derived from this. The museum, which is set up in the rooms of the former abbot's dwelling, houses true sacred treasures. Above all, the panels of the so-called Scots Altar, a key work of Gothic panel painting. The anonymous artist is thought to have migrated here from Nuremberg. Two of the panels show what Vienna looked like in around 1470. They are therefore the oldest topographical illustrations of the city in existence.

Further important exhibition pieces are a panel by Peter Paul Rubens, early Dutch landscapes and a portrait of the Austrian Baroque artist Franz Anton Maulbertsch. The inventory also includes valuable old furniture, liturgical utensils, precious liturgical vestments, books, manuscripts and documents.

Entry to the museum is through the abbey shop.