Programme
The Special Exhibit

The Special Exhibit

Programme

You vote, we exhibit!

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

The current special exhibit

October 13, 2026 – January 10, 2027

Erich Lessing: A Moment of Hope

The photograph "Erich Lessing: A Moment of Hope" will be on display in the State Hall from October 13, 2026, until January 10, 2027. It is part of the compact exhibition „Bridge of Humanity. Austria and the 1956 Hungarian Uprising“ in the State Hall.

Schwarz-weißes Foto von jubelnder Menge in der Straße.

For a brief moment on October 28, 1956, it seemed as though the Hungarian Uprising had succeeded. The withdrawal of Soviet troops had been announced, and thousands of people took to the streets of Budapest to celebrate the prospect of freedom and independence. The Austrian photographer Erich Lessing captured this atmosphere on camera. The contact sheet – an overview of several shots on a single sheet – includes other photographs taken by Lessing immediately before and after this moment. They show peaceful demonstrators marching through Budapest carrying Hungarian flags. The coloured markings indicate which of these images were selected for publication. The contact sheet therefore documents not only a historic moment, but also the process of selecting from a series of images the photographs that would appear in newspapers and magazines.