Austrian National Library
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Attention
Opening hours during the holidays

In addition to regular opening hours, the State Hall will also be open on May 25, 2026.

Opening hours during the holidays

On Pentecost Sunday as well as on public holidays the reading rooms of the Austrian National Library are closed.

The Special Exhibit

Programme

You vote, we exhibit!

In 2026, the Austrian National Library will once again present five "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 five 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).

April 14 – May 31, 2026

Jewish heritage in Vienna: The cemetery in Rossau

The winner of our most recent online voting "Jewish Austria" for the special exhibit is object 1: "Jewish heritage in Vienna: The cemetery in Rossau" (Watercolour, 19th c.). The winning object will be on display in the State Hall of the Austrian National Library from April 14 to May 31, 2026 and will be presented at an expert lecture (in German) on April 21, 2026.

Gemälde, das einen zerstörten Friedhof zeigt.
The Jewish cemetery in Seegasse in Rossau is the oldest surviving Jewish burial site in Vienna. It was laid out in 1517 and first mentioned in a document in 1582. During the expulsion of the Vienna's Jews in 1670, it was threatened with demolition but was saved from destruction by the sons of the banker Jakob Koppel Fränkel through a payment of 4,000 guilders “for eternity”. In 1698, the court banker Samuel Oppenheimer built the first Jewish hospital and almshouse in Vienna next to the cemetery. This watercolour from the 19th century, whose artist is unknown, shows the cemetery and the almshouse, and is an impressive document of Austrian Jewish history.

State Hall

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