Culture
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Innere Stadt, and Museumsquartier, Neubau
The Kunsthistorisches Museum, opposite the similarly grand Natural History Museum, was built in the late 19th century to showcase the Habsburgs’ art collection. The galleries feature works by Arcimboldo, Caravaggio, Raphael, Rubens, Vermeer and Velázquez, alongside one of the world’s largest collections of Hieronymus Bosch. Across the street lies the Museumsquartier (MQ), home to the Leopold Museum, which houses Egon Schiele canvases, the contemporary art of Mumok and the interactive children’s museum, Zoom.
Vienna Museum, Wieden
Vienna’s recently refurbished city museum is in a 1950s building on Karlsplatz, the last work of celebrated Austrian architect Oswald Haerdtl, who also designed the interiors of Café Prückel. It features a long, open terrace, offering views of the nearby baroque Church of St Charles, or Karlskirche. The museum’s permanent exhibition is free of charge.
The Austrian Museum of Applied Arts, Innere Stadt
Commonly known by its German acronym, Mak, the museum focuses on both historical and contemporary design, and is run by Lilli Hollein, co-founder and longtime director of Vienna Design Week. Check out the programme for thought-provoking exhibitions and visit the museum’s design shop, which offers whimsical Austrian products that you won’t find elsewhere.
Karl-Marx-Hof, Döbling
Vienna’s city government is justly proud of its social-housing policies, which began after the First World War and during the socialist period known as Red Vienna. The Gemeindebau (“community building”) programme continues to this day. But the Karl-Marx-Hof in northwestern Vienna – an early example – remains a monument to revolutionary social planning. Stretching more than a kilometre, it houses nearly 1,400 flats and is worth a visit for its sheer scale alone.
82/92 Heiligenstädter Str
Gartenbaukino, Innere Stadt, and Filmcasino, Margareten
With its iconic New York-style marquee and well-preserved 1960s interiors, the Gartenbaukino is Austria’s main venue for festivals, retrospectives and large-scale premieres. It was one of the first cinemas in Austria to screen 70mm films and remains the country’s largest single-screen auditorium. Vienna’s other iconic mid-century cinema, the Filmcasino, offers a diverse selection of independent and international arthouse films in their original languages and its wood-panelled décor is a delight.
