studentsineurope

Culture Overload with Vienna’s Museum Quarter

The gardens of the Museum Quarter

Austria may not be one of the most famous or popular European destinations but its culture and history are as rich as anywhere else. Vienna, Austria’s capital, has one of the most concentrated and amazing collections of museums in the entire continent. The congregation of these museums is a treat to the eyes from both the interior and exterior view, creating an all-encompassing cultural atmosphere.

Finding the Museumsquartier (Museum Quarter) is as easy as a walk in the park…as that’s pretty much what it is. Signs and maps all point to the Museum Quarter, which is decorated not only with the art-filled and architecturally beautiful museums themselves but a myriad of parklands, gardens and sculptures. I guarantee that, if you ask around,  you can find a limitless amount of volunteers to trek to the Museum Quarter with you.

Part of the Museum Quarter

The origins of the central part of the Museum Quarter go back to what used to be known as the Imperial Stalls. These Imperial Stalls were converted into a museum complex in the 1990’s. Most of the popular museums of the city are placed virtually adjacent to each other in this area, making it easy to see multiple museums in one day in Vienna, certainly reducing any transport costs. Furthermore, several of the museums will have deals and at least information about the exhibits in the museums across the road. If you are interested in the cultural side of the city then the Museum Quarter does wonders to help you save money and time.

The Museum Quarter includes museums such as: the Museum of Modern Art (also known as the MUMOK), the Leopold Museum (which holds the largest collection of paintings by Egon Schiele in the world, works of the Viennese Secession, Viennese Modernism and Austrian Expressionism), and the AzW (museum of architecture). The Liechtenstein Palace has one of the largest private baroque art collections in the world, while the Castle Belvedere contains many early 20^th century artworks as well as rotating exhibitions.

Further exploration of Vienna will expose the Military History Museum, the Technical Museum, the Vienna Clock Museum and the Burial Museum. All of these can be easily reached through the pubic transport system or marked walking trails that take you through all the museums Austria’s capital has to offer.

Vienna is located in a hub of large cities in Europe. Other major capitals such as Prague, Budapest, Bratislava, and Zagreb, are all only a few hours away by train, bus or car. Austria has converted to the Euro, which does tend to make it generally more expensive than some of its neighbors to the east but the couple of extra coins are well worth an exploration into such a magnificent, museum-filled city. If you want to save cash, the biggest money savers are cheap accommodations and the combination deals many of the museums offer. Even if you can’t afford to enter every museum, the Museum Quarter itself is well worth exploring from the outside.