Belvedere 21, Modern art museum in Landstraße district, Vienna, Austria.
Belvedere 21 is a modern art museum in the Landstraße district and features a steel structure with large glass facades. The building spans multiple levels with spacious gallery rooms that use natural light and spatially showcase various artworks.
Karl Schwanzer designed the building in 1954 for Austria's pavilion at Expo 58 in Brussels; the steel structure hanging from four pylons won the Grand Prix. To save it from demolition, it was dismantled and re-erected in Vienna's Schweizergarten, opening on 20 September 1962 as the Museum of the 20th Century. It later served as a contemporary art depot and was renamed Belvedere 21 in 2018.
Inside, visitors encounter works by Austrian artists from the 20th and 21st centuries that show how the art world evolved in this country. The exhibitions rotate regularly and present local works alongside international positions in a way that makes differences and shared ideas visible.
The museum is located at Arsenalstraße 1 and is open to visitors Wednesday through Sunday, with extended hours until 9 PM on Wednesdays. Plan your visit based on which exhibitions you wish to see, as these change regularly.
The upper exhibition floor, 40 by 40 metres and raised six metres, rests entirely on four buttresses, giving the pavilion its floating look. Karl Schwanzer won the Grand Prix d'Architecture for it at Expo 58, and Fritz Wotruba's monumental figural relief stood in front of the pavilion, earning the fair's award for best artwork.
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