20 Attractions to Explore Near Austrian National Library

The State Hall – built in the 18th century as part of the former Court Library – is a breathtaking 80 metres long and 20 metres high. The Habsburg Emperor Charles VI had this gem of secular Baroque architecture built to accommodate his court library. The hall is an exceptional experience not only for bookworms.The library complex includes four museums, as well as multiple special collections and archives.

The Sisi Museum in the Imperial Apartments of the Imperial Palace compares the myth and the facts. Among the highlights are numerous personal objects once owned by Elisabeth as well as the most famous portraits of the beautiful empress. The show focuses on Elisabeth's private life, her rebellion against the court ceremonial, her flight into beauty, sporting excellence, travel and rapturous poetry.

The Palm House in Burggarten is considered one of the most beautiful art nouveau structures of its kind in the world. Since 1998, the building, more than 3,000 square feet in area, towers over the garden of the Imperial Palace; it houses hundreds of free-flying tropical butterflies in a re-creation of their natural environment. The temperature is 27°C and the humidity 80%.

The most important treasury in the world is home to two imperial crowns as well as the Burgundian treasure and the treasure of the Order of the Golden Fleece. The Imperial Treasury is divided into two collections: the secular collection and the ecclesiastical collection. The secular collection contains numerous imperial artifacts from the House of Habsburg, including jewels and precious stones that due to their unique size could not be fitted into the imperial crowns.

The Spanish Riding School in Vienna is the only institution in the world which has practiced for more than 450 years and continues to cultivate classical equitation in the Renaissance tradition of the Haute Ecole. The leading horses and riders of the school also periodically tour and perform worldwide. It is one of the "Big Four", the most prestigious classical riding academies in the world, alongside the Cadre Noir, the Portuguese School of Equestrian Art, and the Royal Andalusian School.

The Hofburg is the former principal imperial palace of the Habsburg dynasty. Located in the centre of Vienna, it was built in the 13th century and expanded several times afterwards. It also served as the imperial winter residence, as Schönbrunn Palace was the summer residence. Since 1946 it is the official residence and workplace of the president of Austria.

Michaelerplatz in Vienna is a baroque square in the center of the city that was designed around 1725 but was not built until the end of the 19th century. The square has borne its name since about 1850 after the 1221 by Babenberg Duke Leopold VI. donated parish church of St. Michael for the court servants and the citizens who lived in the vicinity of the Hofburg. Since 1991, the center of Michaelerplatz has been defined by archaeological excavations that are permanently open to the public.

A majestic museum, which combines  imperial flair and masterpieces of art. What used to be the city's largest residential palace during the Habsburg monarchy is now an art museum of international renown whose name is also associated with one of the worlds most important graphic art collections and which attracts cultural travelers and city tourists from around the globe

The Neue Burg forms an extended wing from the main Hofburg palace area and lines one side of Heldenplatz square (see the photo above). Despite its grand look, the building is a relative baby in Vienna’s historical architectural landscape.

The Jewish Museum of the City of Vienna is a place of encounter, confrontation, and understanding, which seeks to raise awareness of Jewish history, religion, and culture. The museum is present on two locations, in the Palais Eskeles in the Dorotheergasse and in the Judenplatz, and has distinguished itself by a very active programme of exhibitions and outreach events highlighting the past and present of Jewish culture in Austria.

The Burggarten Vienna Garden was laid out in the year 1818 as a private garden of the emperor on an area of approx. 38.000 m².It is also home to the Palm House, one of the most beautiful Art Nouveau glasshouses built according to designs by Friedrich Ohmann.

This majestic building is regarded as one of the most important structures built in the "Wiener Moderne". The building marks the rejection of historicism, as well as the ornaments used by the Wiener Secession. Despite its aesthetic functionalism, the building is not a simple purpose building; especially the materials have not saved costs or effort. The contrast between the marble-clad lower facade area and the simple plaster façade of the above-mentioned residential floors is striking.

This is a burial chamber beneath the Capuchin Church and monastery in Vienna, Austria. It was founded in 1618 and dedicated in 1632, and located on the Neuer Markt square of the Innere Stadt, near the Hofburg Palace. Since 1633, the Imperial Crypt serves as the principal place of entombment for the members of the House of Habsburg.

Heldenplatz is one of the prime public squares of Vienna, located in front of the Hofburg Palace. The historic square is famous for hosting many major events and functions. The square’s dimensions and content have changed with time, though, as various prestigious building projects went up in or around the area.

The Weltmuseum Wien in Vienna is the largest anthropological museum in Austria, established in 1876. It currently resides in the Hofburg Imperial Palace and houses more than 400,000 ethnographical and archaeological objects from Asia, Africa, Oceania, and America. Since November 2014 the museum was closed due to renovation and was reopened on the 25th of October 2017.

The Mozart Monument in honor of the composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in Vienna has been located in the Burggarten in the 1st district of the inner city since 1953 . The memorial is right at the entrance opposite Eschenbachgasse and can be seen clearly from the Burgring .The 7.5 meter high monument was created by the architect Karl König and the sculptor Viktor Tilgner and on April 21, 1896, five days after Tilgner's death, on Albrechtsplatz unveiled.

Kohlmarkt is a shopping street in Vienna's 1st district , Inner City . It stretches from Michaelerplatz to Graben and is considered Vienna's luxury mile due to the high density of jewelers and branches of international fashion labels. It was the location of many exclusive shops. The Kohlmarkt forms the so-called "Golden U" of traditional inner-city shopping streets, which have a high-quality range and are designed as pedestrian zones.

The Graben Vienna is an exclusive and pulsating shopping street in the heart of the inner city with a plague column. Most of the buildings in this pedestrian area origin from the 17th and 18th century and you can find here finest traditional shops. Some of these shops have a long tradition and were already popular in the times when Austria was ruled by emperors.

The Vienna Plague Column is a Trinity Column on the Graben in downtown Vienna . It was built after the plague of 1679 and consecrated on October 29, 1693. The 21 meter high baroque column is one of the best known and most striking sculptural works of art in the city.

The Vienna State Opera is one of the top opera addresses in the world, with first-class productions of the very highest caliber and a different program every day. The building is also the home of the Vienna State Ballet, and it hosts the annual Vienna Opera Ball during the carnival season. The Program at the Vienna State Opera includes Premieres, New Stagings and Productions, but also some of the most popular opera performances such as Aida, Tosca, La Traviata, The Magic Flute and so more.