Austrian Theatre Museum

The boundary of the XIX-XX centuries in Vienna was a real flowering of theatrical art in its various manifestations. Theatrical and musical exhibitions, whole studies devoted to the history of the theater have become very widespread. In this regard, in 1921, a separate collection dedicated to the theater was created on the basis of the National Library. The creator of the first exhibition was librarian, musicologist and theater connoisseur Joseph Gregor.

The first exhibition, presented to the attention of a wide range of viewers, was devoted to the theme of comedy. This was the impetus for further work to expand the collection. In 1922, a private collection of one of the then popular actors and directors was acquired, which was later expanded by archival data related not only to the theater, but also to the history of literature. The Austrian Theatre Museum was gradually created from various collections. It happened in 1975.

To date, the collection of the museum includes more than 100 thousand drawings and engravings, several hundred models of theater costumes of different times, more than half a million photos of famous artists, celebrity autographs, paintings and other materials - almost two million exhibits. One of the most valuable exhibits is the unique puppet theater "Golden cabinet". The museum archive is of great value to theatre researchers, as is the extensive library. Regular exhibitions are devoted to a variety of topics: opera, dance, puppet theater, cinema and even pantomime.