Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna

Construction of the Kunsthistorisches Museum and the similar Natural History Museum on Maria-Theresien-Platz began in 1871, with plans drawn by Gottfried Semper and Baron Karl von Hasenauer.

Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria-Hungary opened the Kunsthistorisches Museum, along with the Natural History Museum across the square, around 1891. The museums were intended to house and display the Habsburgs' extensive art collection to the public.

The museum building features symmetrical Renaissance Revival façades constructed of sandstone, with prominent octagonal domes reaching 60 meters high. The interiors are richly decorated with marble, stucco, gold leaf, and murals.

The architectural plans for the museum building were created by Gottfried Semper and Baron Karl von Hasenauer. They designed the structure in a Renaissance Revival style.

The primary collections of the Kunsthistorisches Museum are derived from the formidable art collections of the Habsburg dynasty, including notable holdings from Ferdinand of Tirol, Emperor Rudolph II, and Archduke Leopold Wilhelm.

The grand stairway of the museum is adorned with paintings by prominent artists including Gustav Klimt, Ernst Klimt, Franz Matsch, Hans Makart, and Mihály Munkácsy, contributing to the lavish interior decoration.

In 2010, a panel recommended the restitution of two altar panels by Maerten van Heemskerck to the heirs of Richard Neumann, a Jewish collector whose art was plundered by the Nazis. Neumann's daughter sold the panels in 1938 to the museum.

A dispute arose in 2015 concerning Pieter Bruegel the Elder's painting 'The Fight Between Carnival and Lent', with Poland claiming it was seized by the wife of Krakow's Nazi governor. The museum maintained it had owned the painting since the 17th century.

The renowned Cellini Salt Cellar was stolen from the museum on May 11, 2003, in what was considered Austria's greatest art theft. It was recovered on January 21, 2006, after being buried in a forest near Zwettl.

The museum underwent renovations and expansions, particularly for its Kunstkammer rooms. A documentary film titled 'The Great Museum' was shot over two years leading up to the re-opening of these renovated rooms in 2013.

From October 2018 to January 2019, the museum hosted 'Bruegel – Once in a Lifetime,' the largest exhibition ever dedicated to the works of Pieter Bruegel the Elder.