MAK Museum of Applied Arts

The MAK was founded in 1863 on the model of the South Kensington Museum in London, to raise the standard of Austrian manufacture by putting good design in front of makers, and it was the first such museum on the continent. Heinrich von Ferstel built it on the Ring in 1871. Its holdings cover glass, ceramics, metal, textiles, furniture and Asian art, and its particular strength is the Wiener Werkstätte archive - the complete records, designs and sample books of the workshop founded by Hoffmann and Moser in 1903, some twenty thousand drawings, which no other institution has. Thonet bentwood, Loos furniture and a Klimt cartoon for the Stoclet frieze are here. From 1986 the permanent galleries were staged by contemporary artists, one to a room, which is still the presentation.

What you actually see

• The Wiener Werkstätte archive - the complete workshop records and designs.
• Artist-staged permanent rooms - each gallery installed by a contemporary artist.
• Thonet and Loos furniture - the bentwood and modernist holdings.
• Klimt's Stoclet cartoons - the full-size designs for the Brussels frieze.

When to go

All year; free entry on Tuesday evenings in most seasons. Half a day.

Honest expectations

The artist-staged rooms subordinate the objects to the installation, which some visitors find frustrating. Parts are closed for rehangs. Study collections need appointments.

Nearby

The Postal Savings Bank is across the Ring; the Stadtpark is south.