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Visiting Vienna

National Library Prunksaal

Outside the National Library

In a city of historical buildings, the Prunksaal (State Hall) of the Austrian National Library might just be the single-most impressive room in all of Vienna.

Inside the state hall

Wide view of the Prunksaal

(© Österreichische Nationalbibliothek/Hloch)

The National Library’s State Hall (Prunksaal) is a “library room” in the same way the Mona Lisa is a “painting”.

The building dates back to the early 18th century, when Emperor Charles VI decided he needed somewhere suitable to put his books.

Not for Charles a quick shelf from IKEA.

Instead, the Emperor got architect Fischer von Erlach (he of Schönbrunn Palace fame), to design a rather splendid court library. This included the Prunksaal, which reaches almost 80m in length and over 14m in width, with a domed ceiling towering almost 20m overhead.

The hall does, indeed, have bookcases: huge, tall, Potteresque wooden ones guarded by giant mobile ladders.

It has columns, too: marble and wooden supports, all topped with golden scrollwork.

And statues: a who’s who of the earlier Habsburgs, with Charles VI himself at the room’s centre in a pose styled after Hercules, leader of the Muses.

And giant globes: two pairs of 17th-century celestial and earthly globes by the Franciscan friar, Vincenzo Coronelli. (For more like these, be sure to visit the Globe Museum.)

And, last but not least, it has ceiling frescoes.

Lots of ceiling frescoes.

The State Hall is a rich feast of frescoes that draw your eye up and around in unadulterated wonder. One of the painters (Daniel Gran) also created similar works for the remarkable Baroque Annakirche.

This is not a library where you need to put out signs asking people to be quiet. It demands awestruck silence. Besides, who would ever wish to disturb the peace of the books in such a magnificent hall?

The Prunksaal of the National Library

(© Österreichische Nationalbibliothek/Hloch)

Ah, the books

Those dark bookcases heave with giant leather-bound tomes. The kind you expect to be full of ancient philosophy, tales of dragons, and spells to cure your warts.

Unfortunately (but understandably), you can’t get close to the books. But glass display cabinets present rarities from the library collection and items relevant to the current Prunksaal exhibition. (Due to conservation needs, the exhibits in the semi-permanent display are typically copies of library possessions.)

Highlights on my visit included, for example:

  • The world-famous Tabula Peutingeriana, the 13th-century parchment copy of a Roman road map
  • An extract from the late 14th-century Wenceslas Bible
  • An extract from the Vienna Dioscurides, an early 6th-century illuminated manuscript
  • The 9th-century Carolingian sacramentary fragment

You can only begin to imagine what treasures lurk in the library archives. But then, the early library owners did head up a giant empire, which makes sourcing new reading material a little easier.

One item on display is always most certainly not a copy, though: the ever-changing special exhibit. On my visit, it was Haydn’s 1797 autograph score for his Gott erhalte composition, better known these days as the music of the German national anthem.

Tickets & visitor tips

At the time of writing, a standard adult ticket cost €8, with kids free. The Vienna Pass (see my review) also includes one-time free access to the State Hall.

Note that the National Library has scheduled the State Hall for renovation work and will be closed from July 1st to December 31st 2022.

A few tips:

  • It’s one room (albeit a big one), so you don’t need to spend too much time here. However, save a good 30-60 minutes to take it all in and look at the special exhibition
  • Coat racks and coin-operated lockers are available near the entrance
  • All display information is in both German and English, and a little brochure includes a map of the statues
    • An interactive screen allows you to learn more about the different parts of the ceiling frescoes
    • The special exhibits all have their own information displays

How to get to the Prunksaal

Although the National Library itself has its main entrance in the Neue Burg, access to the Prunksaal is elsewhere in the Hofburg complex.

Pop across to Josefsplatz to enter the state hall. The same square also has the Augustinerkirche, where various Emperors and Empresses married (and Marie Antoinette).

If you’re meandering around the old town in Vienna’s centre, you’ll likely come across the location anyway.

Subway: a short walk from the stations Herrengasse (U3) and Stephansplatz (U3 and U1)

Tram/bus: take the 1, 2, 71 or D trams around the Ring to the Burgring stop, then walk through the Hofburg. Or take the 1A or 2A bus to Michaelerplatz

Address: Josefsplatz 1, 1010 Vienna | Website

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