In the heart of Vienna, just a few steps from the Ringstrasse and the Hofburg, stands one of the world’s largest cultural complexes. The MuseumsQuartier, known as MQ, covers an area of 90,000 square metres and houses more than 60 cultural institutions ranging from modern art to contemporary dance, from architecture to children’s culture.
What makes this space unique is not only the exceptional concentration of museums and galleries, but the ability to merge past and present in a continuous dialogue. The baroque buildings of the former imperial stables, designed in 1713 by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach at the behest of Emperor Charles VI, coexist harmoniously with bold contemporary structures such as the dark grey mumok cube.
The MuseumsQuartier is not just a place to admire art, but an urban space where the cultural experience is all-round. During the warm season, the inner courtyards come alive with the famous colourful mobile MQs where Viennese and visitors relax between visits, while cafés and restaurants offer culinary breaks with views of the historic architecture.
The Leopold Museum houses the world’s largest collection of works by Egon Schiele, with 42 paintings and over 200 graphic works by the Viennese artist. The building in the form of a white cube made of shell limestone, designed by the architects Ortner & Ortner, has five levels with a total of 5,400 square metres of exhibition space.
The museum is the result of fifty years of passionate collecting by physician and art historian Rudolf Leopold, who began systematically acquiring works by Schiele in the 1950s when the artist was still relatively unknown. Among the masterpieces on display are the intense ‘Self-Portrait with Alchechengi’ and the famous ‘Portrait of Wally Neuzil’.
Alongside Schiele, the museum presents an outstanding selection of works by Gustav Klimt, the founder of the Viennese Secession. The collection also documents the Wiener Werkstätte movement with drawings and objects by Josef Hoffmann and Koloman Moser, offering a comprehensive overview of Viennese modernism between the 19th and 20th centuries.
An often overlooked advantage is the MQ Libelle rooftop terrace of the Leopold Museum, accessible free of charge from March to October. From here, there is a privileged view over the roofs of Vienna and the entire MuseumsQuartier complex.
The mumok is the largest museum of modern and contemporary art in Central Europe, with a collection of around 10,000 works by 1,600 different artists. The imposing cubic building clad in anthracite grey basalt of volcanic origin is an architectural landmark in the MuseumsQuartier landscape.
The permanent collection embraces all major art movements of the 20th and 21st centuries. Particularly significant is the section devoted to American Pop Art, with masterpieces by Andy Warhol such as ‘Orange Car Crash’, works by Claes Oldenburg including the monumental ‘Mouse Museum’, and works by Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Indiana and Jasper Johns.
The mumok also houses the world’s most comprehensive documentation of Viennese Actionism, the radical Austrian movement of the 1960s that revolutionised performance art. Works by Günter Brus, Otto Muehl, Hermann Nitsch and Rudolf Schwarzkogler bear witness to this extreme current that investigated the limits of the body and perception.
There are also works of classical modernism, from Pablo Picasso to Piet Mondrian, Paul Klee to Wassily Kandinsky. In recent years, the museum has significantly expanded its photography, video and film section, with a cinema designed by artist Heimo Zobernig exploring the connections between visual art and film.
The Kunsthalle Wien differs from the other museums in the MuseumsQuartier in the absence of a permanent collection. This exhibition space focuses exclusively on temporary exhibitions of international contemporary art, serving as a platform for critical dialogue on social and political issues of our time.
The main building, designed by Ortner + Ortner, occupies the former baroque hall of the imperial stables with a functional and modern structure. The entrance, hidden under the staircase leading to the mumok, reveals spacious and flexible exhibition spaces inside on 3,000 square metres.
The Kunsthalle also operates a second location on Karlsplatz, a glass cube designed by Adolf Krischanitz that dialogues with Otto Wagner’s Art Nouveau underground station. This location hosts complementary exhibitions and site-specific projects that take advantage of the particular transparency of the architecture.
The Kunsthalle’s exhibition programme is characterised by its ability to anticipate emerging trends and give space to artists of the new generation alongside established names. Exhibitions range from monographic retrospectives to thematic collective projects, always accompanied by an intensive programme of lectures, workshops and discussions involving artists, curators and the public.
The Architekturzentrum Wien (Az W) is the only museum exclusively dedicated to architecture in Austria. On 2,000 square metres it explores how architecture and town planning shape our everyday lives, acting as a bridge between specialists in the field and experts in everyday life.
The permanent exhibition ‘Hot Questions – Cold Storage’, completely renovated in 2022, addresses Austrian architectural history of the 20th and 21st centuries from a global perspective. The museum draws on a unique heritage: the world’s most significant collection of modern and contemporary Austrian architecture, which includes around 100 bequests of important architects with plans, models, drawings, furniture and documents.
The exhibition presents around 400 items through an immersive approach that creates atmospheres and sensory experiences. Highlights include architectural models made of Lego bricks by the Viennese artist Harald Gach, reproducing famous and lesser-known buildings in the capital.
The museum organises over 500 events a year, ranging from symposia and workshops to city tours and film festivals. Particularly popular are the tactile architectural tours for the blind and visually impaired, which use scale models and Braille plans to explore masterpieces such as the MuseumsQuartier itself, the Karl-Marx-Hof or the Gasometers.
The ZOOM Kindermuseum is Austria’s leading children’s museum, with a permanent offer designed for age groups from 8 months to 14 years. Covering 1,600 square metres, the ZOOM offers an educational approach based on sensory learning and direct interaction, where touching, experimenting and playing are not only allowed but encouraged.
The museum is divided into four distinct areas. The ZOOM Ocean is a permanent space for children aged 0 to 6 years, structured on two levels: the Underwater World with a sparkling sea cave, mirror tunnel and tactile coral reef, and the Famosa ship where young visitors become crew, manoeuvre the rudder, untie nautical knots and communicate with the lighthouse.
In the ZOOM Atelier, children aged 3 to 12 work side by side with professional artists experimenting with different techniques and materials. Protective overalls are provided before each session, freeing the children from the anxiety of getting dirty and allowing total creative freedom, which includes spraying colours on the paper-covered walls.
The ZOOM interactive exhibitions for the 6-12 age group investigate the world of arts and sciences through stimulating questions: What do music and mathematics have in common? How do astronauts sleep in space? What defines a sculpture? The ZOOM Animated Film Studio, on the other hand, introduces 8-14 year olds to the world of multimedia production, allowing them to create animations, sound collages and music videos.
The Tanzquartier Wien has since 2001 become one of the most influential centres for contemporary dance in Europe. As the main production and performance venue for dance in Austria, it focuses on contemporary performance and experimental choreographic languages.
Programming includes performances by international companies, projects by emerging Austrian artists, co-productions and creative residencies. The Tanzquartier is not limited to the presentation of finished performances, but functions as a real laboratory where choreographers and dancers can develop new works through creation support programmes.
The halls of the Tanzquartier occupy historic spaces of the former imperial stables that have been suitably renovated to accommodate the needs of contemporary dance. The Halle G and other flexible spaces allow for different configurations, from traditional frontal staging to site-specific arrangements directly involving the audience.
Alongside the performances, the Tanzquartier promotes a rich training programme with workshops, master classes and educational projects that bring different audiences closer to the language of dance, contributing to the formation of an active community of aware spectators and amateur practitioners.
The Dschungel Wien is the theatre for young audiences in the MuseumsQuartier, a space dedicated to children, adolescents and families that offers programming of the highest artistic level. The name playfully evokes a wild, unexplored territory where anything is possible.
The artistic offerings of the Dschungel range from theatre to dance, from performance to music, addressing different age groups: from shows for children from 6 months upwards to productions designed for adolescents and young adults. The aim is to stimulate the imagination and encourage critical reflection on contemporary society.
Particular attention is paid to the artistic quality of the productions, which feature internationally renowned directors, choreographers and artists. The theatre hosts national premieres, international co-productions and site-specific projects that exploit the characteristics of the available spaces.
The Dschungel also stands out for its participatory projects that directly involve children and young people in the creative process, transforming them from spectators into active protagonists. Workshops, laboratories and educational projects complete the offer, creating a bridge between professional artistic experience and creative practice accessible to all.
In the following map you can see the location of the main places of interest mentioned in this article.
The architecture of the MuseumsQuartier represents an exemplary case of urban regeneration that respects historical stratification without renouncing contemporaneity. The renovation project, completed in 2001, transformed the former imperial baroque stables into a 21st century cultural centre.
Architects Ortner & Ortner devised an intervention strategy that contrasts bold contemporary volumes with historic buildings. The grey cube of the mumok and the white cube of the Leopold Museum create visual tension and dialogue with the restored Baroque façade, while the inner courtyards maintain the human scale of the old carriage courts.
The courtyards of the MuseumsQuartier function as urban public spaces open to everyone free of charge, transforming into a city lounge during the warm season. The famous colourful MQ furniture, designed by PPAG architects, has become an icon of contemporary Vienna: ergonomic loungers where citizens and tourists alike relax, read, converse or simply observe the hustle and bustle.
Night lighting, temporary art installations and outdoor events keep the complex alive even after the museums are closed. During the summer, film screenings, concerts and festivals take place, while the winter sees the staging of Christmas markets that take advantage of the illuminated historic buildings.
The ‘MQ goes Green’ project aims to make the complex climate-neutral by 2030 through the progressive greening of areas, sustainable management of resources and art projects dedicated to environmental themes, demonstrating how large cultural centres can take an active role in the ecological transition.
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