About Kunsthistorisches Museum
The Kunsthistorisches Museum (Museum of Art History) opened in 1891 as Emperor Franz Joseph I's monument to the Habsburg imperial art collections. Designed by Gottfried Semper and Karl von Hasenauer, the building itself is a masterwork of 19th-century historicism, with ceiling paintings in the grand staircase by Gustav Klimt among the commission's highlights.
The collection spans ancient Egypt and the Near East, Greek and Roman antiquities, sculpture and decorative arts, coins, and an extraordinary picture gallery. The Picture Gallery holds the world's largest collection of paintings by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, alongside major works by Raphael, Titian, Caravaggio, Velázquez, Vermeer, and Rembrandt.
Collections & Highlights
Frequently Asked Questions
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A small ask before you go
You've just explored one of humanity's greatest collections of beauty. Art has the power to move us, inspire us, and change how we see the world. But millions of people will never see beauty like this — not because the art isn't there, but because they can't see at all.
Preventable blindness, caused by conditions like cataracts and trachoma, affects people of all ages across the world's poorest communities. A small gift — for the cost of a museum ticket — can provide a simple surgery to restore someone's sight and transform their life.