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The Vienna Museum Quarter

One of the ten largest culture complexes in the world.With its surface of 60.000 square meters it is a worthy companion of the Louvre in Paris and the British museum in London. The Museum Quarter contains over 40 institutions that offer exhibition space for modern and contemporary art. Furthermore, at the widespread courtyard there is space for restaurants with gardens, cafes and stores. This way, for 150 million euro’s, not only a unique whole has been established, but a complete district. ‘We are going to the Muqua’, a lot of Viennese say when they go to the fourth or eighth district.

Since we are in Vienna, it obviously has a baroque facade. Because the project also includes historical buildings that have aquired a new function, and have been redecorated on the inside and are now unrecognizable. Behind the apricot coloured facade, which is 480 meters long, the imperial stables were located in 1718. The noble four-footed of the monarchs, also of Franz Joseph Karl and his Sisi, were munching the hay here and were currycombed here by servants in livery.

The several buildings behind the facade are not only mutually connected, but through crossovers, passages, alleys and stairs, fire escapes, and visual axles with the surrounding quarters as well. This is its attraction: the Museum Quarter has not been planted like a big UFO between the Hofplatz and the Heldenplatz at the crowded Brugring, but it has been carefully constructed from existing buildings. A godsend for those who love monuments, but also for advocates of modern art. Under round baroque chimneys there is a lot of steal, glass and chrome, holes were carefully filled and modern passages were fitted into the traditional pattern.And around it the city lives and breathes with the Burggasse, the Spittelberg with its narrow alleys, the small houses in Biedermeier style, and the shopping paradise Mariahilferstraße. The Museum Quarter is also called the ‘Piazzali Viennese’.Children can enjoy themselves in the Museum Quarter as well, being fans of art and museums (ZOOM Kindermuseum, www.kindermuseum.at).

For the youngest children there is theatre, a children’s museum and cabaret. For young artists there is the Leopold Museum (✆ 52 57 00, www.leopoldmuseum.org, Wed-Mo 10am-7pm, Thu until 9pm), with a fine limestone facade and masterpieces of the Viennese Secession, the Viennese modern architecture and the Austrian expressionism, with the largest collection of the works of Schiele, Klimt and Kokoschka. 

The Museum Moderner Kunst/Stiftung Ludwig Wien (✆ 525 00, www.mumok.at, Tue-Su 10am-6pm, Thu until 9pm), a cubistic building of the architects Ortner& Ortner, surrounded by a cloak of basalt lava, houses one of the largest collections of modern and contemporary European art. It mostly consists of classic modern art from the 60’s and 70’s and installation and object art from the foundation of the Ludwig couple in Aachen.

The KUNSTHALLE Wien (✆ 521 89 14, www.kunsthallewien.at, daily 10am-7pm, Thu-Fr until 9pm) is an exhibition area for international comtemporary art. The emphasis mostly lies on photography, installations, video and film.

People on the run for museums, are being attracted by film, fashion, performances, DJ’s and artists. The Muqua is getting ready to become the new center of Vienna and behind the confectioner facades plenty of entertainment has been arranged.

The Wiener Festwochen have found their hideout here, just like the film festival Viennale, the Architektur Zentrum Wien, the Tanzquartier, where definitely no waltzes and Radetzkymarches can be heard, but also a Tobacco Museum. In the former imperial lodge, where Sisi was watching horsebreakers while her mustached spouse was occupied with his box of snuff, you can order a glass of champagne. At the inner courtyard, which is not only big but has a lot of corners as well, the restaurateurs are settled. They must have selected their personell really carefully. How else can you explain that the Muqua has developed itself into Vienna’s cooking heaven. Fun for the visitor, but it is not easy to make a choice.

In ‘Leopold’ (✆ 523 67 32, Su-Wed 10am- 2pm, Thu-Sa 10am-4pm, with DJ: Wed-Su from 10pm) you can enjoy the fine Austrian kitchen. ‘Una’ (✆ 523 65 66, Mo-Fr 9am-12am, Sa 10am-12am, Su 10am-7pm) is a meeting place for people who don’t like listening to muzak while having dinner under the dome, decorated with flowers. ‘Halle’ (✆ 523 70 01, daily 10am-2pm), is big enough for the public that likes to have a look around and especially wants to be seen. Sometimes a model treads in here and prominent people like to meet here from time to time as well. ‘Kantine’ (✆ 523 82 39, Mo-Wed 10am-12am, Thu-Sa 10am-2pm) attracts the hip people more and is somewhat cheaper. That’s why a lot of tourists end up here after their art visit.

In June 2005 the Museum Quarter got over 9400 visitors and that amount will rise. The complex is accessible day and night. The most beautiful entrance you make through the middle extension of the royal stables: directly after that the large square unfolds with on the long sides historical and on the short sides modern buildings. It is truly a city within the city.

I., Museumsplatz 1/5, ✆ 523 58 81, www.mqw.at.

 

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