Museum of Military History

The Museum of Military History, known in German as the Heeresgeschichtliches Museum, is one of four barracks that were built around Vienna following the unrest which was sweeping Europe in the mid-1880s. Its predecessor had actually been destroyed in the rebellion of 1848.

This particular barracks complex, the Arsenal, was constructed in the 3rd district of Landstrasse and finally finished in 1856. Following an architectural competition for the contract to design the complex, the winners were the architects who were later responsible for the Vienna Ringstrasse. The contract wasn't however only for strictly military purposes, barracks and weapons storage, for example.

The Emperor at that time, Franz Joseph I, ordered that one building should be used as Vienna’s first purpose-built museum, designed to portray the history and the triumphs of the Imperial Army. The Museum is located on the south side of the Gürtel next to the Schweizergarten and displays the history of the Habsburg Empire from the 16th century to 1918 and also Austria’s military history from the demise of the Monarchy to the Second Republic in 1955.

HIGHLIGHTS

• The museum’s main focus is the history of the Habsburg Monarchy up until its disintegration in 1918.
• In the Franz Joseph Hall are several personal objects which belonged to the Emperor and his son, Crown Prince Rudolf. Additional rooms are dedicated to Prince Eugene, Maria Theresia and numerous wars that Austria fought in (often unsuccessfully).
• The building alone is phenomenal: the museum was built between 1850 and 1856 under the plans of Ludwig Förster and Theophil Hansen as a centerpiece of the Arsenal military complex

For more info and inquiries

pics by Museum of Military History