Kunsthistorisches Museum

The Kunsthistorisches Museum, built to house the vast art collection of the Habsburgs, is one of the finest art museums in the world, a palatial building on Vienna's Ringstrasse. It holds the greatest collection of Bruegel paintings anywhere, works by Vermeer, Rubens, Titian and Velazquez, and rich Egyptian, Greek and Roman antiquities, beneath a magnificent domed hall.

Background

The name translates as Vienna Museum of Art History, and it is the largest art museum in Austria. Emperor Franz Joseph I opened it around 1891 together with the Natural History Museum, which has a similar design and stands opposite across Maria-Theresien-Platz. Both buildings went up between 1871 and 1891, designed by Gottfried Semper with Baron Karl von Hasenauer. Their sandstone facades in Renaissance Revival style have large arched windows, and each is topped by an octagonal dome 60 metres high. Inside are marble, stucco, gold leaf and murals, and the grand stairway carries paintings by Hans Makart, Mihály Munkácsy, Franz Matsch, Ernst Klimt and Gustav Klimt.

Source: Wikipedia, "Kunsthistorisches Museum"

Highlights

• The Bruegel room - the world's greatest collection of Pieter Bruegel the Elder.
• The Old Masters - Vermeer, Rubens, Titian, Raphael and Velazquez.
• The antiquities - the Egyptian, Greek and Roman collections.
• The building - the palatial staircase and the domed cafe hall.

When to go

Year-round; a fully indoor museum, worth a half day at least. Weekday visits are calmer, and the grand cafe under the dome is a treat.

Before you go

It is vast, so focusing on the highlights beats trying to see everything. It is a major museum, so it can be busy, especially around the famous works. The palatial building and its cafe are part of the experience.

Nearby

The Hofburg, the Museumsquartier and the Ringstrasse are all around in central Vienna.

Key facts