Austrian National Library Museum

Address: Austrian National Library (Österreichische Nationalbibliothek), Josefsplatz 1, 1010 Vienna, Austria

Website: https://www.onb.ac.at

Admission: Prunksaal (State Hall) admission for visitors is charged (approximately €10 for adults)

The Austrian National Library is Austria’s central national library, located in the Hofburg palace complex in central Vienna and serving as the country’s largest library.

The complex is best known for its 18th-century Baroque State Hall, a long vaulted reading room with ornate ceiling paintings and historic bookcases. The library also houses the Globe Museum and specialized collections such as the Papyrus Collection and historic maps and manuscripts, used by researchers and shown in museum displays.

The library developed from the Habsburg imperial collections and became Austria’s national repository for books, manuscripts and archival material as political control of the Habsburg collections shifted in the 19th and 20th centuries. Collections have been expanded, catalogued and made publicly accessible over successive centuries.

Sited in the Hofburg in Vienna’s Innere Stadt, the library sits near Heldenplatz and other central landmarks in Vienna; it is inside the city rather than outside in a separate district.

• Visiting the State Hall: Access to the State Hall is often by timed entry or guided tour; check opening times in advance.
• Access restrictions: Several specialized museums and reading rooms lie behind the public galleries and require separate access for researchers.

What to See#

• Prunksaal (State Hall): The library’s 18th-century Baroque State Hall (Prunksaal) is the most seen space, a long vaulted reading room with painted ceilings and rows of historic bookcases.
• Globe Museum: A specialized museum devoted to terrestrial and celestial globes; it holds historic globes and models and is the only museum dedicated specifically to globes within the library complex.
• Papyrus Collection: An archival and research collection of ancient papyri and other manuscript materials held for study and conservation within the national collections.

The Austrian National Library is in the Hofburg complex in central Vienna (Josefsplatz). The closest U‑Bahn stop is Herrengasse on U3 - from Herrengasse it’s about a 2-5 minute walk to the library; Stephansplatz (U1/U3) and other central stops are a short walk as well. The Hofburg area is well served by trams and buses on the Ring road if arriving by surface transport.

• Arrive at opening on a weekday to see the Prunksaal (State Hall) with fewer tour groups; the baroque reading room is the library's principal highlight.
• Purchase timed or combined Hofburg/National Library tickets in advance when available to avoid long lines and to streamline entry into the library exhibition and State Hall.
• Allow time to explore the library's exhibition areas in addition to the Prunksaal-most visitors focus on the main hall and miss the surrounding collections and displays.