Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
seum shows off its huge and rotating collection of works by “classical” modernists (Paul
Klee, Pablo Picasso, Pop artists) and more contemporary art (€9, good €3 audioguide, Mon
14:00-19:00, Tue-Sun 10:00-19:00, Thu until 21:00, tel. 01/52500,
www.mumok.at
)
.
Rounding out the sprawling MuseumsQuartier are an architecture center, Electronic Av-
enue, design forum, children's museum, “Quartier 21” (with gallery space and shops), and
the
Kunsthalle Wien
—an exhibition center for contemporary art (two halls with different
exhibitions, €8.50 for one, €7 for the other, €11.50 for both; daily 10:00-19:00, Thu until
21:00, tel. 01/521-8933,
www.kunsthallewien.at
)
.
These sights cluster around Karlsplatz, just southeast of the Ringstrasse (U-1, U-2, or U-4:
Karlsplatz). From the U-Bahn station's passageway, it's a 30-minute walk around the sights
on Karlsplatz: the Karlskirche, Secession, and Naschmarkt.
This picnic-friendly square, with its Henry Moore sculpture in the pond, is ringed with
sights. The massive, domed Karlskirche and its twin spiral columns dominates the square.
The small green, white, and gold pavilions that line the street across the square from the
church are from the late 19th-century municipal train system
(Stadtbahn).
One of Europe's
first subway systems, this precursor to today's U-Bahn was built with a military purpose in
mind:tomovetroopsquicklyintimeofcivilunrest—specifically,outtoSchönbrunnPalace.
With curvy iron frames, decorative marble slabs, and painted gold trim, these are pioneer-
ing works in the
Jugendstil
(Art Nouveau) style, designed by Otto Wagner, who influenced
Klimt and the Secessionists. One of the pavilions has a sweet little exhibit on
Otto Wagner
which illustrates the Art Nouveau lifestyle around 1900. It also shows models for his never-
built dreams and the grand expansion of Vienna (€4, described in English, April-Oct Tue-
Sun10:00-18:00,closedMonandNov-March,neartheRingstrasse,tel.01/5058-7478-5177,
▲
Karlskirche (St. Charles' Church)
Charles Borromeo, a 16th-century bishop from Milan, inspired his parishioners during
plague times. This “votive church” was dedicated to him in 1713, when an epidemic spared
Vienna. The church offers the best Baroque in the city, with a unique combination of
columns(showingscenesfromthelifeofCharlesBorromeo,àlaTrajan'sColumninRome),
a classic pediment, and an elliptical dome.
CostandHours:
€6,ticketcoverschurchinterior,elevatorride,andskippableone-room
museum; audioguide-€2; Mon-Sat 9:00-18:00, Sun 13:00-18:00, last entry 30 minutes be-