Kunsthistorisches Museum

The Kunsthistorisches Museum opened in 1891 when Emperor Franz Joseph I created a home for the Habsburg art collection that had grown over five centuries. The twin museum buildings on Maria-Theresien-Platz were designed by Gottfried Semper and Karl von Hasenauer between 1871 and 1891. Habsburg rulers began collecting systematically in the 16th century, with Archduke Ferdinand II assembling treasures at Ambras Castle and Emperor Rudolf II turning Prague into an artistic center.

The Picture Gallery holds the world's largest collection of Pieter Bruegel the Elder paintings, with 12 works including The Fight Between Carnival and Lent. No other museum owns more than three Bruegels. Titian, Tintoretto, and Giorgione represent the Renaissance. Hieronymus Bosch and Parmigianino's Self-portrait in a Convex Mirror rank among the Northern Renaissance and Mannerist highlights. After the Habsburg empire collapsed in 1918, ownership transferred to the Austrian Republic.