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State Hall

Due to an event, the State Hall will only be open from 12 p.m. until 6 p.m. on Thursday, March 19, 2026.

Opening hours during the holidays

In addition to regular opening hours, the State Hall will also be open on Monday, March 30, April 6, and May 25, 2026.

The museums of the Austrian National Library will only be open additionally on Monday, April 6, and May 25, 2026.

Department of Papyri

Papyrusfragment und Lupe

3,000 years of Egyptian writing history

With 180,000 objects, the Department of Papyri of the Austrian National Library is one of the largest and most important collections of ancient manuscripts in the world.

The written records preserved in the Department of Papyri reflect the historic, cultural, linguistic and religious changes over a period of about 3000 years. The main focus of the collection is on documentary texts from late antiquity (4th to 7th century A.D.).

It holds texts written on papyrus and other writing material of former times such as parchment, ostraca, leather and wood panels. Every one of our objects is a unique original document from ancient times.

A representative selection is to be seen at the Papyrus Museum.

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