MuseumsQuartier

Summer can hardly be imagined today without the MuseumsQuartier and all of its museums, dance and youth theatres and pavement cafés. This has not always been so. More than 15 years ago it was a massive construction site.

At the beginning of the 18th century, when people still travelled on horseback, the MuseumsQuartier housed the court stables. Later (from 1922) the grounds were used for trades fairs and exhibitions. The MuseumsQuartier has only been the cultural site we know today since 2001. A location for museums and theatres, a place for dance, for digital culture and much more. Nevertheless, one is reminded of the ‘olden days’ in many places. We go into the foyer of Halls E+G and the Kunsthalle Wien. This building used to house the winter riding arena. The gallery is still here, from where an audience could watch the equestrian artistry below. Perhaps even Empress Sissy sat here and watched. There are only three real new buildings. They dominate the grounds, too: the white block is the Leopold Museum, the black box is the MUMOK contemporary art museum, and between the two is the Kunsthalle Wien. All of the other cultural facilities, including the Architekturzentrum Wien, for example, are situated in the restored, listed parts of the buildings.

MUMOK in the MuseumsQuartier
© Architekturzentrum Wien

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© Architekturzentrum Wien