Objects

Heimito von Doderer, "Die Dämonen"

With roughly 10 million media, the Austrian National Library is not only the largest library in the country but also an endlessly rich fund of literary exhibits: the director’s chair of Austria's “word acrobat” Ernst Jandl is just as much part of the inventory as the text sketches for Robert Musil’s novel of the century “The Man Without Qualities”. These objects, alongside many others, are on display in the Literature Museum.

The exhibits originate from the collections of the Austrian National Library and other important institutions. In addition to manuscripts, letters, drawings, posters and photos, the Museum also includes a number of audio-visual points. There are also exhibits of visual and cultural-historical interest, including the wig that Egon Friedell wore for his famous Goethe sketch, a walking stick in which Peter Handke carved the paths and villages of his walks through Slovenia, or an alarm clock that was the most important prop in one of the legendary cabaret programmes of the Vienna Group.

A further highlight is the famous Grillparzer Room, which has been preserved in its original condition. Franz Grillparzer served here as the director of the Austro-Hungarian Exchequer Archive, and wrote a number of his works at the desk in this room.


last update 12/2/2015