The Belvedere Museum: A Timeless Jewel of Austrian Art and Culture

The Belvedere is not just an imposing Baroque palace. It is also a museum that contains one of the most precious collections of art in Austria – including major works by Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele and Oskar Kokoschka.

Prince Eugene of Savoy (1663-1736), great general and art lover, commissioned Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt to construct Belvedere garden palace as his summer palace – then still outside the city gate.

It is a baroque architectural gem of two palaces (Upper and Lower Belvedere), in which Austrian middle-age art through to the current day is nowadays housed.

The Belvedere in Vienna is among the world’s top museums. Its renowned art collection comprises works from the Middle Ages to the current time. Austrian art in a global context is showcased in three venues. Features are the world’s largest collection of Gustav Klimt paintings as well as leading works from the eras of Viennese Biedermeier, Austrian Baroque, Vienna around 1900, and French Impressionism. The core activities of the institution center on displaying, researching, collecting, communicating, and conserving. Constant innovations and computerization in every sector guarantees the Belvedere’s relevance as an exemplary museum of the future.