The Museums
Outstanding art experiences in Vienna
Vienna’s museums are undoubtedly world-class and show outstanding art collections, historical treasures and ingenious artists: from antiquity to the present. Here, masterpieces by Albrecht Dürer or Pieter Bruegel meet the icons of Art Noveau (Jugendstil) such as Gustav Klimt or Egon Schiele, as well as many more exciting examples of modern and contemporary art. The Leopold Museum in the Museum Quarter has a unique collection of works of Viennese Art Nouveau and Expressionism. The works by Gustav Klimt, Koloman Moser, Oscar Kokoschka and Richard Gerstel are on display here. The building of the Association of Visual Artists Vienna Secession is an unquestionable masterpiece of the Jugendstil architecture. The exhibition hall was created by the architect Josef Maria Olbrich, but several founding artists of the society had worked on its concept. The Secession as an independent association of visual artists still exists today and the spiritual heirs of the Fin de siècle protagonists continue to show their newest projects in these halls, guided by the slogan written above the entrance: “To every time its art. To art its freedom.” After the building’s reconstruction, Gustav Klimt’s Beethoven Frieze was restored in the basement floor, and this site-specific installation is the only permanent exposition here. Do not be confused by the word “modern” in the name of the harsh-looking building in Museum Quarter. It is devoted to contemporary art projects. The museum hosts one of the biggest European collections of art from modernism to the present day. However, it does not have a permanent display. Instead, the museum presents thematic exhibitions based on its own collection and monographic projects of individual authors. Kunsthalle literally means “art hall.” In Vienna, all the 1500 square metres of its exhibition space are dedicated to the changing projects of international contemporary art artists. Explore the major Vienna art museums and their famous collections
From Ancient Egypt to Modernity
Vienna Museum of Art History
If you are looking for the world-famous masterpieces of European art in Vienna, they are (almost) all here—from ancient Greek sculpture to the canvas of Vermeer, Holbein, Dürer, Raphael, Titian and Velasquez. That’s why walking through the exhibition halls you will always meet paintings and sculptures whose reproductions fill the media space.
The museum is internationally renowned for the remarkable number of paintings by Pieter Bruegel the Elder and its unique collection of Roman glyptic art. The “Cabinet of Wonders”—Kunstkammer—deserves special attention. This collection of jewellery and applied art is particularly notable not only by the exceptional quality of its artefacts, but also by the original and elegant presentation of its exhibits.
Address: Maria-Theresien-Platz, 1010 Vienna
Opening hours: Daily except Mon 10 am – 6 pm, Thu 10 am – 9 pm
June to August open every day
Official website of the museum
Belvedere Palace
The Vienna Belvedere is a magnificent example of Baroque architecture. Built by Prince Eugene of Savoy and later owned by the imperial family, this sumptuous palace complex now houses the collection of the Austrian National Art Gallery. Here, Art Nouveau admirers come to see Gustav Klimt’s famous painting The Kiss. But the collections of Gothic, Baroque and Impressionist art do deserve the visitor’s special attention.
The palace complex consists of several buildings. The Upper Belvedere features the permanent exposition, while the Lower Belvedere hosts temporary exhibitions. This museum is worth the attention of those who are interested in European history, impressive architecture and specific Austrian art.
Address: Prinz Eugen-Strasse 27, 1030 Vienna
Opening hours: daily 9 am – 6 pm
Official website of the museum
Imperial Treasury
Historically, Vienna has become a repository not only for the regalia of the House of Habsburg, but also for the treasures of the Holy Roman Empire. Therefore, besides crowns and relics of the Austrian Imperial House, you will also find highly interesting and seldom objects relating to the secular and spiritual life in Europe since the time of Charlemagne.
Strictly speaking, the artefacts in the Treasury are not usually called “art” today, as they consist primarily of objects of cult and ceremonial value, although of exceptional historical and decorative value. But the Treasury is the very museum in Vienna, where the phenomena that became the basis of its cultural code become visible. And this is the quality that makes an artefact to be a true piece of art.
Address: Hofburg, Schweizerhof, 1010 Vienna
Opening hours: daily except Tu 9 am – 5:30 pm
Official website of the museum
Albertina
The Albertina Museum has a world-famous collection of drawings and prints. Five to six times a year the museum presents outstanding themed exhibitions where you can see pieces from its own collection as well as the artworks from public and private institutions from all over the world.
In addition to the exhibition halls, the so-called Parade Rooms, representative halls of the Austrian archdukes and archduchesses, where, in addition to historical interiors, the copies of the most iconic works by Dürer, Bruegel, Rubens, Rembrandt, Schiele and Klimt are on constant display.
The only permanent exposition in this museum is the collection of modernist and avant-garde art From Monet to Picasso. The presentation of works in this exhibition is regularly updated, which makes each visit to the gallery different from the earlier one.
Address: Albertinaplatz 1, 1010 Wien
Opening hours: daily 10 am – 6 pm, We&Fr 10 am – 9 pm
Official website of the museum
Gallery of the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts
The Vienna Academy of Fine Arts is one of the oldest educational institutions for artists. Artists, architects, decorators and restorers are still being trained there. In more than three centuries of its existence, the Academy has acquired a valuable collection of paintings, consisting of dozens of works by famous artists of the past—Bosch, Rubens, Van Dyck, Botticelli, Titian and Rembrandt. Old Masters’ masterpieces had to set an example for students.
Address: Schillerplatz 3, 1010 Vienna
Opening hours: daily except Mo 10 am – 6 pm
Official website of the GalleryArt Nouveau and Modernism
Leopold Museum
If you want to see art that first embodied the principle of independence of the author, you will find it in this museum. The collection includes not only paintings, drawings or sculptures, but also furniture and household items of the Jugendstil era. But the main highlight of the museum is the world’s largest collection of drawings and paintings by Egon Schiele, an artist whose explorations of sexuality and sensuality may still seem excessively straightforward even today.
Address: Museumsplatz 1, 1070 Vienna
Opening hours: daily except Tu 10 am – 6 pm, Thu 10 am – 9 pm
Official website of the museum
Secession
Address: Friedrichstrasse 12, 1010 Vienna
Opening hours: daily except Tu 10 am – 6 pm
Official website of the SeccesionContemporary Art
МUМОК – Museum of Modern Arts
Address: Museumsplatz 1, 1070 Vienna
Opening hours: daily except Mon 10 am – 6 pm, Thu 10 am – 9 pm
Official website of the MUMOK
Vienna Kunsthalle
If you are a regular visitor to the international art shows like Documenta, Venice Biennale or Manifesta, then this is the place where you find projects that create and comment on the current contemporary art agenda. Each year there are three to five exhibition projects, as well as hundreds of discussions, performances and lectures.
Address: Museumsplatz 1, 1070 Vienna
Opening hours: daily except Mon 11 am – 7 pm, Thu 11 am – 9 pm
Official website of the Kunsthalle
Belvedere 21 – Museum of Contemporary Art
This museum is the main platform for national contemporary art in Vienna and the venue for a large-scale presentation of the national art scene. Exhibitions present almost exclusively Austrian authors or authors who contribute to setting national art into the international context.
Address: Arsenalstrasse 1, 1030 Vienna
Opening hours: daily except Mo 11 am – 6 pm, Thu 10 am – 9 pm
Official website of the Belvedere 21