Austrian National Library
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The Special Exhibit

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You vote, we exhibit!

In 2024, the Austrian National Library will once again present six "special exhibits" from its extensive holdings in the State Hall.

You can help decide which objects will be exhibited via online voting. In each of the six votings, there are three objects to choose from. 

The "special exhibit" on display will be accompanied by a free expert talk, a blog post and a video (only available in German).

The current special exhibit The next special exhibit The following special exhibit

Online voting for the next "Special Exhibit"

Which "special object" do you want to admire at a presentation? Vote now! Three exceptional objects from the holdings of the Austrian National Library are up for selection. Voting is possible from November 19 to December 2, 2024. This "special exhibit" will be on display from March 11 to April 24, 2025 in the State Hall of the Austrian National Library and at an expert lecture on March 18, 2025.

 

Farewell spring fever 
Of broken hearts and other love dramas

Unrequited love often leads to an emotional labyrinth of deep loss, painful longing and overwhelming tragedy. Three objects from the extensive collections of the Austrian National Library deal intensively with lovesickness and the shattered dream of love.

Read more about the three exhibits

Ödön von Horváth: „Figaro läßt sich scheiden“
Hugo Wolf: Das verlassene Mägdlein
Francesco Colonna: Hypnerotomachie, ou discours du songe 

Thank you for voting!

The result will be displayed on this website starting December 3, 2024.

September 30, 2024 - December 1, 2024

New and improved question and answer cards


The winner of our most recent online voting "In the Salon" for the special exhibit is object 3: "New and improved question and answer cards" (parlor game, c. 1860). The winning object will be on display in the State Hall of the Austrian National Library from September 30 to December 1, 2024 and will be presented at an expert lecture (in German) on October 8.

In the early 19th century, the Viennese engraver Franz Barth set up business as a "maker of pictures and toys" in what was then the Mariahilf suburb of Vienna. His son and heir Carl Barth continued the tradition and among other things published illustrated pamphlet songs, as well as this somewhat erotic parlour game, consisting of 98 cards. Although similar games with ready-made questions and answers already existed, this exhibit is an absolute rarity today, as no other surviving copy can be traced. The questions were read off the cards by the gentlemen (e.g. "Do you think a kiss is a crime?"), and the ladies replied with pre-determined sentences (e.g. "You don't need to know everything").

December 2, 2024 – January 12, 2025

Mondvojaĝantoj – World Traveller


The winner of our most recent online voting "A voyage around the world" for the special exhibit is object 3: "Mondvojaĝantoj – World Traveller" (photograph, 1911). The winning object will be on display in the State Hall of the Austrian National Library from December 2, 2024 to January 12, 2025 and will be presented at an expert lecture (in German) on December 10.

At the beginning of the 20th century, three young men from the Netherlands – Abraham Mossel, Frans van der Hoorn and Gerard Perfors – were motivated by the same ideals to embark on an ambitious adventure. As pacifists, vegetarians and Esperanto speakers, they were committed to social equality and sought freedom in nature. On 16 July 1911, in Amsterdam, they began a journey around the world that they had planned for eight years, but that was brought to an abrupt end by the First World War. They made their way as far as Palestine, mostly on foot, via Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Eastern Europe, and Egypt.

January 14, 2025 – March 9, 2025

The velvet and sable of Siegmund Baron von Herberstein


The winner of our most recent online voting "The dream of flying. Of flying machines and balloon flights" for the special exhibit is object 3: "The velvet and sable of Siegmund Baron von Herberstein" (book, Vienna, 1560). The winning object will be on display in the State Hall of the Austrian National Library from January 14 to March 9, 2025 and will be presented at an expert lecture (in German) on January 21, 2025.

In the first half of the 16th century, Siegmund Baron von Herberstein travelled all over Europe as an envoy of the House of Habsburg, including to the court of the Grand Duke of Moscow. His activities as a diplomat in the service of the Emperor were also reflected in his outward appearance. Unusually for the time, however, Herberstein added six full-page woodcuts of himself to his autobiography "Sigmund Freyherr zů Herberstain Neyperg vnd Guttenhag oberster Erbcamrer vnd oberster Druchsas in Kärnttn [...]", printed in Vienna in 1560. They show him in the splendid robes he wore at audiences with the Habsburg Emperor, the Grand Duke of Moscow or the Turkish Sultan, or which he had received as gifts from these rulers.
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