The Kunsthistorisches Museum (KHM) www.khm.at is the largest art museum in the country and one of the most important museums worldwide. It was opened in 1891 by Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria-Hungary to house the treasures of the Habsburg empire.
You’ll find it on my map.
The interior of the museum is a spectacle itself with it lavish paintings and marble, stucco and gold-leaf decorations.
The ground floor exhibits some fine examples of ancient Egyptian and Greek art.
You can click on the photo galleries to get a better view.
The next room is the Collection of Greek and Roman Antiquities.
Half the ground floor is given over to the Collection of Sculpture and Decorative Arts.
The collection includes many fabulous pieces from the Habsburg palace treasury. Some of the baroque ornaments are absolutely stunning while others are quite unbelievably ugly, despite dripping with jewels and precious metals. Click on the gallery for the best view.
I deeply regret that I didn’t have time to see the upstairs picture galleries (dedicated to the great European masters) and look at the staircase, which is decorated with paintings by Gustav Klimt amongst others. Three hours was enough for me though, and I was getting hungry…