{"id":249,"date":"2015-08-20T12:15:57","date_gmt":"2015-08-20T10:15:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/?p=249"},"modified":"2025-05-06T10:53:42","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T09:53:42","slug":"kunsthistorischesmuseumbuilding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/kunsthistorischesmuseumbuilding\/","title":{"rendered":"The Kunsthistorisches Museum building"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/perikles.jpg\" alt=\"Pericles statue on the Kunsthistorisches Museum building\" class=\"wp-image-14728\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/perikles.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/perikles-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>The Kunsthistorisches Museum (KHM) in Vienna appeared as part of the extraordinary burst of construction activity that accompanied the development of the city&#8217;s Ringstra\u00dfen (Ring boulevard) in the latter part of the nineteenth century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Major art museum completed in 1891<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Twin to the Naturhistorisches Museum opposite<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Gorgeous lit up at night\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8230;impressive during the day, too<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Go inside for more beauty\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8230;both artistic &amp; architectural<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Book <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiqets.com\/en\/KHM-kunsthistorisches-museum-tickets-l141961\/?partner=visitingvienna&amp;tq_campaign=LG_KHM\" rel=\"sponsored\">KHM tickets<\/a>*<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>See also:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/khm\/overview\/\">Kunsthistorisches Museum overview<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sightseeing\/vienna-museums\/\">Museums in Vienna<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"the-building-s-history\">The building&#8217;s history<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/khmbuildingpress.jpg\" alt=\"Outside of the Kunsthistorisches Museum\" class=\"wp-image-57857\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/khmbuildingpress.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/khmbuildingpress-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(The Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien on Maria-Theresien-Platz square. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/footsteps\/maria-theresa-monument\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"6483\">monument<\/a> at the centre features Empress Maria Theresia herself; press photo \u00a9 KHM-Museumsverband)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Given the interests, wealth, and influence of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/culture\/habsburgs\/\">Habsburg dynasty<\/a>, they accumulated quite a collection of paintings, sculptures and the like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Art of such high calibre deserved a home to match. Unfortunately, the suggestions originally proposed by various architects for a museum along the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/culture\/history-of-the-ringstrassen\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"68027\">new Ringstrassen<\/a> met with little enthusiasm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the end, the museum&#8217;s design became dictated within a wider project drawn up with Emperor Franz Joseph&#8217;s approval by Gottfried Semper and Carl von Hasenauer. The same pair also designed, for example, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/entertainment\/theaters\/burgtheater\/\">Burgtheater<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/entertainment\/semperdepot\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"83134\">Semperdepot<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"373\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/khm_construction.jpg\" alt=\"Construction work on the KHM in the early 1880s\" class=\"wp-image-37179\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/khm_construction.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/khm_construction-300x224.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Building of the domes on the Kunsthistorisches and Naturhistorisches museums around 1881; image from the Michael Frankenstein &amp; Comp. photo studio; Wien Museum Inv.-Nr. 78079\/1212\/2; excerpt reproduced with permission under the terms of the CC0 licence)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This wider project was the Kaiserforum or Imperial Forum, intended as an impressive complex of buildings and arches spanning today&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/ring\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"1546\">Ring boulevard<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Art and natural history museums formed one part, conceived as mirror images of one another and separated by a landscaped square: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/maria-theresien-platz\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"47208\">Maria-Theresien-Platz<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Both museums went up according to those plans. The Kunsthistorisches Museum took 20 years to complete, officially opening in 1891.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/khm2024.jpg\" alt=\"Kunsthistorisches Museum as the sun goes down\" class=\"wp-image-71531\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/khm2024.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/khm2024-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(View as the sun begins to set)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The new museum initially opened on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 10am to 3pm. And from 9am to 1pm on Sundays. I should point out that opening hours have changed since then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The wider forum never reached completion, though. Money proved an issue, as did growing disinterest from the Emperor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Any chance of finishing the whole monumental project effectively ended with World War I and the subsequent demise of the monarchy; the newly-formed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/culture\/austria\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"12860\">Republic of Austria<\/a> had other concerns and priorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div align=\"center\"><em>Ad:<\/em><br><\/div><div data-tiqets-widget=\"discovery\" data-cards-layout=\"horizontal\" data-content-type=\"venue\" data-content-ids=\"141961,145515\" data-partner=\"visitingvienna\" data-tq-campaign=\"D_KHMSchatzVenue\"><\/div><script defer src=\"https:\/\/widgets.tiqets.com\/loader.js\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"the-architecture\">The architecture<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The outside of the museum features a series of statues built as the personification of the arts and art history, together with representations of real people: famous artists and their sponsors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The statues appear chronologically, beginning with the ancients at the back of the building and moving forward in time clockwise.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/khmroofstatues.jpg\" alt=\"Statues on the roof of the Kunsthistorisches Museum\" class=\"wp-image-47842\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/khmroofstatues.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/khmroofstatues-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Two of the rooftop sculptures)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the rear of the building, for example, you&#8217;ll find Alexander the Great or the Athenian statesman, Pericles. At the front, great centers of Renaissance culture like Venice and statues of artists like Titian, Michelangelo, and Raphael.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The side of the building facing the Ring boasts representations of those modern cities already possessed of great art museums at the time of the KHM&#8217;s construction&#8230;like London, Paris, Madrid, and Milan.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/khmdavinci.jpg\" alt=\"Da Vinci represented on the facade of the KHM\" class=\"wp-image-47841\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/khmdavinci.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/khmdavinci-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Leonardo inevitably gets a mention)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Needless to say, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/khm\/overview\/\">interior of the museum<\/a> also reflects the splendour of its art collection and the would-be glory of its imperial sponsor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A couple of tips for viewing this magnificent building:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Pop along after dusk and enjoy the lit-up view (see the photo below). During the Christmas season, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/christmasmarkets\/weihnachstdorf-maria-theresien-platz\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"860\">market<\/a> on the square in front of the building adds another layer of lights (and smells, tastes, and sounds).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/khmnight.jpg\" alt=\"The Kunsthistorisches Museum at night\" class=\"wp-image-42468\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/khmnight.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/khmnight-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Always a lovely nighttime view)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Drop into the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sightseeing\/vienna-museums\/mq\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"4030\">MuseumsQuartier<\/a>, which is the Kunsthistorisches Museum&#8217;s contemporary pendant and neighbour. The free-to-use <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/mq-libelle\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"26801\">Libelle viewing platform<\/a> on top of the Leopold Museum gives you a view down to the two old museums.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Stream the movie, <em>Before Sunrise<\/em>. The museum forms a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/songsfilms\/before-sunrise-locations\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"36997\">background location<\/a> as the two main protagonists wander through Maria-Theresien-Platz.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Kunsthistorisches Museum (KHM) in Vienna appeared as part of the extraordinary burst of construction activity that accompanied the development of the city&#8217;s Ringstra\u00dfen (Ring boulevard) in the latter part of the nineteenth century. The building&#8217;s history (The Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien on Maria-Theresien-Platz square. The monument at the centre features Empress Maria Theresia herself; press [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14728,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-249","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-museums","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=249"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83142,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249\/revisions\/83142"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14728"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}