Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, National library and museum in Neue Burg, Vienna, Austria.
The Austrian National Library occupies the Neue Burg wing of the Hofburg, with its historic collections entered from Josefsplatz. Its Prunksaal, completed in 1726 by Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach after plans by his father Johann Bernhard, is an oval hall lined with two tiers of dark wooden bookcases framed by gilded ornament and tall columns. A white marble statue of Charles VI on a carved pedestal stands at the center beneath a domed ceiling painted by Daniel Gran, and the hall is divided into a war and a peace side.
The institution was founded in the 14th century as the Habsburg imperial library and grew into one of Europe's major collections over the following centuries. It became the National Library following the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the establishment of the Austrian Republic.
The library's name changed from Imperial Court Library to Austrian National Library in 1920, after the monarchy ended. Its five museums include the Papyrus Museum, built on Archduke Rainer's collection of about 180,000 objects donated to Franz Joseph I in 1899, and the Globe Museum in the Palais Mollard-Clary, the only one of its kind worldwide.
The Grand Hall and connected spaces are open to visitors most weekdays, allowing you to walk through and view the collections up close. Plan enough time to also explore the adjoining museum exhibitions, which rotate regularly and offer different themes throughout the year.
Four globes by Vincenzo Coronelli stand in the library building, not in the Prunksaal; the globe museum itself, with 695 globes and astronomical instruments, has occupied the Palais Mollard-Clary on Herrengasse since 1956. Its holdings reach back to the 16th century, most made before 1850.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 92,787 contributors worldwide.
