If you like sharp corners and straight lines, look away now. The Kunst Haus Wien is art within art: the building follows a Hundertwasser design and the museum inside showcases his inimitable works.
- Wonderful façade and interior architecture
- Large collection of Hundertwasser works
- Contemporary art exhibitions on green themes
- Do visit the café (trust me)
- What special exhibitions are on?
- A stop on the Hop on Hop off tours
- Book a walking tour* in Vienna
- See also:
- Selected past exhibitions at the Kunst Haus Wien
- Hundertwasser location guide
Hundertwasser…
(The remarkable front façade)
The Kunst Haus Wien essentially consists of two parts: the Hundertwasser Museum and one or more separate (thematically) special exhibitions and/or installations involving contemporary art.
Bring your imagination and a sense of wonder…the building alone, designed by Hundertwasser himself, snubs its nose at the conformity of modern architecture and illustrates his artistic and philosophical vision through a multi-coloured façade, uneven lines, and use of live vegetation.
Inside is no different.
Tiles merge into wooden floorboards across undulating floors. “Tree tenants” reach outside from the safety of their interior boxes. And walls curve and swerve their way around the galleries.
Even the stairway bannisters join in the fun, with no one newel the same as the next.
(I had to look up the word “newel”. It’s the capped vertical bits in the banisters.)
Anyway, it’s all a joyous experience even before you get to the museum’s actual exhibitions.
(Part of the Hundertwasser Museum; press photo © ip-photography)
Two floors trace Hundertwasser’s artistic endeavours from the 1940s through to the last years of his life, arranged largely by medium: a blaze of creativity in the form of screen prints, woodcuts, lithographs, tapestries, etchings, paintings and all things in between.
This journey begins with watercolours and conventional landscapes before quickly morphing into the “classic” Hundertwasser styles: striking colours, rings, spirals, uneven forms, and images that draw you in, revealing themselves and their depth only after close examination.
As Hundertwasser said himself:
The straight line is godless
But the museum covers more than just the artist’s prints and paintings, with parts devoted to, for example, book covers or architecture.
You also find small bonuses interspersed among the c.170 works, such as Hundertwasser quotes and wall text espousing his philosophies on life.
Highlights
The whole museum offers a breath of fresh air in the tristesse and superficiality of the modern media-driven world, and serves as a treasure trove for fans of Hundertwasser’s work. But a few exhibits left a particularly lasting impression on me. For example:
- A display cabinet with gorgeous embossed Hundertwasser book covers
- A large model of the proposed In the Meadow Hills architectural project, with houses integrated into their surrounds, streams, and curving paths. Sheep graze on grassed roofs. Echoes of Tolkien’s The Shire and Hobbiton…
- The Japanese woodcuts and silk screen paintings which pop with colour, glistening in the light
(Model of the Hundertwasser’s Regentag ship; press photo © ip-photography)
Tickets, exhibitions & tips
At the time of writing, standard adult entry costs €15.
Special exhibitions
Separate (art) exhibitions fill the upper two floors (unless you visit during the setting-up period).
These exhibitions follow environmental and sustainability themes in line with the Hundertwasser legacy and the focus of the wider institution; the museum runs on hydrothermal energy, for example.
The Kunst Haus Wien often has other art installations / exhibitions on green themes dotted around the premises, too.
Current schedule at the time of writing:
- Antimatter Factory (until August 10th, 2025): solo exhibition for Mika Rottenberg
- Plastic Matters (until May 25th, 2025): explores what we might do constructively with waste plastic other than simply recycling it
Next up:
- Green Washing Vienna (June 14th to September 28th, 2025): art students explore the space and line between genuine climate protection efforts and those we might file under greenwashing
More tips:
- A shop has exactly what you might expect: Hundertwasser designs turned into postcards, posters, art prints, umbrellas, napkins and other items
- The architectural concept extends to the toilets, which might be the most intriguing in all of Vienna
- Ditto the lovely café-restaurant. Grab a coffee, if only to sit in what feels like a madcap but elegant converted conservatory, complete with vegetation
How to get to the Kunst Haus Wien
The Kunst Haus Wien is a conveniently short walk from the famous Hundertwasserhaus, but both are a tiny bit away from most other tourist destinations.
Tram: take tram 1 or O (that’s the letter O) to Radetzkyplatz. If you’re in the centre, you can catch the 1 from, for example, Schwedenplatz station on the U1 and U4 subway lines.
Address: Untere Weißgerberstraße 13, 1030 Vienna | Website