Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

The Kunsthistorisches Museum was built in 1891 near the Imperial Palace by Gottfried Semper and Karl von Hasenauer, and is seen as one of the architectural masterpieces of the area. With its vast array of important works and the largest Bruegel collection in the world, the KHM is considered one of the most eminent museums worldwide.

The picture gallery houses numerous major works of European art history, among them Raphael’s "Madonna in the Meadow," Vermeer’s "The Allegory of Painting," the Infanta paintings by Velazquez, masterworks by Rubens, Rembrandt, Dürer, Titian and Tintoretto.

One of the most anticipated events in 2012 will be the reopening of the Kunstkammer (chamber of art and wonders). The typical Kunstkammern of the Renaissance and Baroque periods were encyclopaedic, universal collections that attempted to reflect the entire knowledge of the era. Particularly desirable were rare, curious and unusual objects.

The Kunstkammer (collection of art and wonders) at the KHM is unique in the extraordinary quality of its objects, given the fact that they were commissioned or purchased by the emperor or members of the imperial family.

www.khm.at