Museum
Kunsthistorisches Museum
Photo via TripAdvisor (Management)Some booking links are affiliate links. If you book through them, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We never let this influence which places we recommend.
The Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien is the largest art museum in Austria, housed in a palatial building on Vienna's Ring Road with an octagonal dome. It displays the Habsburgs' formidable art collection, including works by Raphael, Dürer, Titian, Bruegel, Caravaggio, Vermeer, and Rembrandt. The grand stairway is decorated with paintings by Gustav Klimt and other artists.
Don't miss
- Pieter Brueghel the Elder's The Tower of Babel (1563) and The Hunters in the Snow (1565)
- Johannes Vermeer's The Art of Painting (1665–66)
- Caravaggio's The Crowning with Thorns (c. 1602–1604) and Madonna of the Rosary (1606–07)
- Raphael's Madonna of the Meadow (1506) and St Margaret and the Dragon (1518)
- The grand stairway with murals by Gustav Klimt, Hans Makart, and others
- The Cellini Salt Cellar sculpture by Benvenuto Cellini, recovered after a 2003 theft
Tickets & tours
Ways to visit Kunsthistorisches Museum
You can visit Kunsthistorisches Museum on your own. A guide mainly adds context, what you are looking at and why it matters, and a tour can add transport or combine nearby sights into one day.
Cheapest way inEntrance tickets for the KunstHausWien. Museum Hundertwasser4.5★ · 91 travelers1-2 hoursFree cancellationFrom$5 per personSee dates →
Most bookedVienna Classical Concert at St. Peter’s Church4.7★ · 2,299 travelers~1 hourFree cancellationFrom$45 per personSee dates →
Private & flexiblePrivate Tour of the Kunsthistorisches Museum: Secrets of Masterpieces | Tickets included5★ · 28 travelers~3 hoursFree cancellationFrom$279 per personSee dates →Getting there
Know before you go
- The museum is on the Vienna Ring Road in the Innere Stadt district, near the Natural History Museum and Albertina.
- The primary collections come from the Habsburgs, including portrait and armour collections of Ferdinand of Tirol and paintings of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm.
A bit of history
Emperor Franz Joseph I opened the museum around 1891, alongside the similarly designed Natural History Museum across Maria-Theresien-Platz. The two buildings were constructed between 1871 and 1891 by architects Gottfried Semper and Baron Karl von Hasenauer to house the Habsburg art collection and make it accessible to the public.
Common questions
What are the most famous paintings here?
Notable works include Bruegel's The Tower of Babel and The Hunters in the Snow, Vermeer's The Art of Painting, Caravaggio's The Crowning with Thorns, and Raphael's Madonna of the Meadow.
Is the museum part of a larger complex?
Yes, affiliated sites include the Ephesus Museum, Imperial Armoury, Secular and Ecclesiastical Treasury in the Hofburg, the Museum of Carriages at Schönbrunn Palace, and Ambras Castle in Innsbruck.
Was any art stolen from here?
The Cellini Salt Cellar was stolen in 2003 and recovered in 2006 in a forest near Zwettl. The museum also faced restitution claims for Nazi-looted art, including two altar panels by Maerten van Heemskerck recommended for return in 2010.
More attractions in Vienna
