!!!Kunsthistorisches Museum

Kunsthistorisches Museum, since the opening of the museum building, 
common name for the museum of fine arts in Vienna, which contains the 
collections of art and cultural items of the Habsburg family. The 
''main building'' (built from 1872-1891 to plans by G.  Semper and 
C. von  Hasenauer) houses the: 1) Egyptian and Near Eastern 
Collection from the 1%%sup st/%  half of the 19%%sup th/%  century; 2) 
Collection of Greek and Roman Antiquities, with the Ephesus Museum 
(the latter is accommodated in the Neue Hofburg imperial palace); 3) 
Picture Gallery; paintings from the 15%%sup th/%  century onwards, 
formerly owned by the Habsburgs, the core of the gallery is the 
collection of Archduke  Leopold Wilhelm; 4) Collection of Sculpture 
and Decorative Art; forms the centre of the imperial collections, 
brought together in 1891; the Este collection and the  Tapestry 
Collection have been part of it since 1918; 5) Collection of Secular 
and Ecclesiastical Treasures  Treasury (attached to the Collection of 
Sculpture and Decorative Art, but kept in the Hofburg imperial 
palace); 6) Coin Cabinet, collection of antique, medieval and modern 
coins and medals, with the collection of historical coining dies 
attached to it, but housed in the Austrian mint (collection started 
around 1500).

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In the ''Neue Hofburg'' there are the 7) Collection of Arms and 
Armoury, which, after the Armeria Real in Madrid is the largest 
collection of this sort in the world; it comprises collections of the 
emperors Friedrich III to Franz Joseph I, which were brought 
together in 1888 and accommodated in the main building, at their 
present location since 1935; 8) Collection of Ancient Musical 
Instruments (Renaissance and Baroque instruments from the collection 
at Ambras palace and the Este collection); 9) large comprehensive 
library, comprising books from historical collections, in particular 
from the Coin Cabinet and the Collection of Greek and Roman 
Antiquities, brought together in 1882; since 1883 responsible for 
editing the "Jahrbuch der Kunsthistorischen Sammlung des 
Allerhoechsten Kaiserhauses" (Yearbook of the Art Collection of the 
August Imperial Family), which was originally published by the office 
of the Lord High Treasurer.

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The Kunsthistorisches Museum also comprises the 10) Coach and Carriage 
Museum (collection of historical state and utility carriages) ( 
Wagenburg Coach Collectionin Schoenbrunn and the 11) collections at  
Ambras Castle (Tirol) consisting of a collection of historically 
reconstructed antiquities, a collection of sculpture and decorative 
art, an armoury and the portrait gallery showing important Austrian 
historical personages, composed in 1975 of paintings deposited at 
Schoenbrunn palace and pictures not displayed for a long time. Since 
1995 the K. M. has housed temporary exhibits the Palais Harrach 
and also utilized the Wiener Kuenstlerhaus for exhibitions.

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When the legal form of the  Federal Museums was changed to independent 
scientific institutions subject to public law as of January 1, 1999, 
the K. M. obtained the capacity to acquire and hold rights and 
duties. The collections originate from private collections of 
archdukes (Ferdinand II von Tirol, Ambras; Leopold Wilhelm, 
Brussels) and emperors (Rudolf II, Prague) as well as of princes 
of Vienna, Graz and Innsbruck. The Treasury is the oldest of these 
(13%%sup th/%  century), followed by the Coin Cabinet and the 
Collection of Antiquities (established by Karl VI), the Picture 
Gallery and the Collection of Sculpture and Decorative Art (started by 
Ferdinand I and his son Maximilian II). After looting by the 
Swedes, the remaining items of the collection of Rudolf II in 
Prague came to Vienna. The collection of Archduke Ferdinand II in 
Ambras was bought by Rudolf II, but came to Vienna only after the 
end of the occupation of Tirol by Bavarians in 1805.

!Literature
H. Fillitz and G. Kugler, Kunsthistorisches Museum, 
Wien. Fuehrer durch die Sammlungen, 1988; H. Haupt, Die Geschichte des 
Hauses am Ring, 1991; B. Kriller and G. Kugler, 
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Architektur und Ausstattung, 1991.


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