Cultural Partners / Theatermuseum Wien
The Theater Museum Vienna in the Palais Lobkowitz
The Sternstunden of stage magic are forever preserved in the Theatermuseum Wien in the Palais Lobkowitz. The house brings together collections on all aspects of the performing arts, with a focus that extends from Austria to far beyond its borders.
Photo:© KHM Museum Association
One of the largest documentation centers of the performing arts
The Theater Museum Vienna is one of the largest and most significant documentation sites of its kind worldwide. It preserves testimonies of the performing arts, from spoken-word and musical theater to dance and film, as well as figure and puppet theater. The museum archives, researches, and publishes these testimonies. It also presents them in elaborately designed exhibitions.
The collections include, for example, costumes, stage model sets, hand-drawn drawings, paintings and photographs. The museum also preserves manuscripts, theatrical graphics, posters, programs and memorabilia of artists. In addition, it houses figure and paper theaters, including Teschner’s Figure Mirror.
Photo: © Theatermuseum, Vienna
The Palais Lobkowitz
The Palais Lobkowitz is the first important Baroque town palace built in Vienna after the Second Turkish Siege of 1683. Today, the Vienna Theatre Museum is located here. The builder was the imperial chief treasurer Philipp Sigmund Graf von Dietrichstein. He commissioned the imperial court architect Giovanni Pietro Tencala to build it. However, Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach designed the mid-rise building with the main portal. Finally, the palace was completed in 1694.
From 1745 onwards, the house belonged to the Lobkowitz family. Especially Franz Joseph Maximilian von Lobkowitz became passionate about music and theater. He supported Ludwig van Beethoven, who often visited the house and performed there. Since the prince was the dedicatee of the third symphony, the hall is named „Eroica-Saal“. However, its current appearance was achieved between 1724 and 1729. At that time, the Dutchman Jacob van Schuppen painted its ceiling.
Long before the Theater Museum Wien opened, others used the Palais. From 1869 to 1909, for example, the French Embassy was located here. From 1947 to 1979, it also housed the French Cultural Institute. After that, the building came under the control of the Republic of Austria. They had it comprehensively renovated and converted it into a museum.
On October 26, 1991, the Theatermuseum Wien then officially opened its doors in the Palais Lobkowitz.
The house is one of the cultural partners of Discover Culture. Learn more at Website of the Theater Museum.