Vienna Museum

The Vienna Museum (German: Wien Museum or Museen der Stadt Wien) is a group of museums in Vienna, Austria, devoted to the history of the city. Its main building stands on Karlsplatz, but the institution encompasses numerous specialised museums, musicians' residences, and archaeological sites across Vienna. The museum holds over one million objects spanning from the Neolithic period to the present, with particular strength in 19th-century art. Following a three-year closure for reconstruction and extension, the museum reopened in December 2023 with a new free permanent exhibition and expanded facilities.

The institution traces its origins to 1887, when it was founded as the Historical Museum of the City of Vienna (Historisches Museum der Stadt Wien). Until 1959, it occupied rooms in the Vienna Town Hall (Rathaus). Plans for a dedicated building on Karlsplatz had circulated since the early 20th century, including an unrealised Jugendstil proposal by Otto Wagner, but two world wars delayed construction for decades. In 1953, the Vienna City Council resolved to build the museum in honour of President and former mayor Theodor Körner on his 80th birthday. An architectural competition followed, with 80 contestants submitting 96 designs. Although the jury chaired by Franz Schuster awarded Oswald Haerdtl only fourth place, he was selected to design the building. The museum opened on 23 April 1959 as the first newly built museum of the Second Republic. Under director Robert Waissenberger (1974-1987), it achieved record attendance with the 1985 Jugendstil exhibition Traum und Wirklichkeit, which drew 622,000 visitors. In 2003, under Wolfgang Kos, the city museums were united under the umbrella name Vienna Museum. The building closed in 2019 for comprehensive renovation and extension, reopening on 6 December 2023. In 2002, the institution became an independent scientific institution under public law (wissenschaftliche Anstalt öffentlichen Rechts) through the Vienna Museum Act, though its collections remain city property held on loan. Matti Bunzl has directed the museum since 2015.

The permanent collections of art and historical material on the history of Vienna range from the Neolithic era to the mid-20th century, with some holdings extending to the present. The art collection includes works by Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, and Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller. The historical collection documents urban development from the Roman camp of Vindobona onward. The museum's total holdings exceed one million objects. Special exhibitions are regularly mounted, now occupying the new top floor of the expanded building.

The museum's collections feature significant works by Gustav Klimt, reflecting its emphasis on 19th-century Viennese art. The 1981 Egon Schiele exhibition, drawing on the Serge Sabarsky collection, attracted 106,000 visitors. Historical highlights include material on the Roman settlement of Vindobona, the world of the Ringstraße, and the era of Red Vienna. The museum also preserves the Neidhart Frescoes, transferred to it in 1982, and one of Otto Wagner's threatened Stadtbahn pavilions from Karlsplatz, moved to the museum in 1979.

The main building on Karlsplatz was designed by Oswald Haerdtl in an unassuming contemporary modern style and was the first museum constructed in Austria after the Second World War. Haerdtl supervised the interior design down to the furnishings of the director's office. The courtyard was roofed over in 2000, and in 2006 the foyer was renovated with new exhibition space created from former storage areas. The 2015-2023 renovation and extension, designed by Ferdinand Čertov and Winkler + Ruck Architekten, added two floors above the existing structure, a pavilion, and a plaza. The former atrium was transformed into a great hall for displaying the collection's largest objects. The new upper floor houses special exhibitions, while an additional floor contains a café, terrace, event hall, and education centre.

The Vienna Museum's main building is located on Karlsplatz in central Vienna. Since its reopening in December 2023, the permanent exhibition has been free of charge. Special exhibitions are held on the new top floor and have taken place since February 2024. The museum operates as a scientific institution under public law with its own legal personality, though it remains subject to oversight by the Vienna provincial government and the city audit office.