The city guarantees the right place for every bookworm. Behind the doors of these libraries, you'll discover Vienna as a city with a rich cultural heritage and find oases of peace amid the fast pace of the city. Above all, the spines of books can also charm the eye.

Austrian National Library: magnificent

With seven reading rooms and around 3.9 million books, the Austrian National Library in the Hofburg tops the list, primarily because of its impressive State Hall. The impressive building was designed by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach and his son Joseph Emanuel. Built in the 18th century in the Baroque style, the hall boasts a lavishly decorated dome, magnificent Venetian globes and is filled with more than 200,000 historical volumes. The sight is a feast for the eyes. The library’s most important function is to collect and archive every publication released in Austria, including electronic media. The National Library’s valuable book collection includes works from the collections of the Habsburgs. This makes it one of the most important historical libraries in the world.

© Paul Bauer / WienTourismus

The future has arrived: Library of the Vienna University of Economics and Business

The new campus of the Vienna University of Economics and Business creates a science fiction feeling right in the heart of classical Vienna. The library building in particular, which resembles a spaceship both outside and inside, is a real head-turner. From the light entrance hall to the fantastic view of the Prater – the futuristic Library & Learning Center, which was designed by the world-famous architect Zaha Hadid, impresses with a strikingly modern design combined with outstanding functionality.

© boanet

Library of the Academy of Fine Arts: magical

This reading room looks like something out of a movie about a famous school of magic. In fact, this is actually part of a university – although it is fine arts that are taught here. The Academy of Fine Arts is one of the oldest art academies in Europe. What’s more, the library can be accessed free of charge. It is a place where researchers, students and teachers as well as those interested in the arts and sciences can find information, work and communicate. With its dark wood décor and classic golden lamps with green shades, the historic hall looks like it has been transported from the past.

© Helmut Wimmer

Library of the Liechtenstein Garden Palace: regal

Do you want to feel like royalty for a change? Then sign up for a guided tour of the Liechtenstein Garden Palace! The library is just one of the many artistic and architectural highlights of the baroque palace. The neoclassical furniture reflects the prevailing taste of the late 18th century. Beautifully regal. Today, the library’s collection comprises around 100,000 volumes covering every field of knowledge from the 15th to the 19th century.

© LIECHTENSTEIN. The Princely Collections, Vaduz-Vienna

Artistic and cool: reading room in the MAK

In a good library, everything is arranged in rank and file. That also seems to be the credo in the reading room of the MAK – Austrian Museum of Applied Arts/Contemporary Art. The diverse collection of over 200,000 books, art prints and periodicals is almost symmetrically arranged here, as are the desks, bookshelves and lamps. This place thus attracts above all design lovers, as well as being very popular with art students. Since 1993, the simple ambience of the reading room by Ursula Aichwalder and Hermann Strobl has also offered the perfect conditions in which to research and work. This Viennese library is also open on weekends.

© Gerald Zugmann / MAK

Vienna Main Library: urban

The Vienna Main Library building, designed by Ernst Mayr and opened in 2003, sits above the Burggasse-Stadthalle subway station. The stairs leading up to the entrance of the library and the café-restaurant “Oben”, which offer a wonderful view of the Urban-Loritz-Platz traffic intersection, are particularly distinctive. It may not sound like it, but it’s actually a pleasant place to sit – especially at dusk. In summer, there is even an open-air movie theater on the roof. Inside, however, you won’t find any stately rooms, just a well-stocked, unpretentious library.

© Tobias Steinmaurer / picturedesk.com

Viennese knowledge: Vienna City Library in City Hall

With a focus on the research and preservation of Vienna's history and culture and the archiving of important documents, the library on the first floor of Vienna City Hall has a very special significance. The historic rooms also captivate with noble furnishings that develop special atmospheric qualities. By the way: the Vienna City Library has one of the last remaining paternoster lifts in Austria in its original condition – accessible via the entrance on Felderstrasse.

© Adsy Bernhard, Wienbibliothek

Parliamentary Library: democratic

This is where one of the most important collections of historical documents on parliamentarianism and democracy in Central Europe is stored. Its collection of over 370,000 books also makes it a major research center for Austrian politics. The digitized plans for the spectacular parliament building by architect Theophil Hansen are particularly interesting.

© Parlamentsdirektion / Buchner

University of Music and Performing Arts: pages about strings

How does the vibration of strings actually produce sound on double basses? And what are the differences between the opera forms pasticcio and opera buffa? Questions like these are answered in the library of the University of Music and Performing Arts, in a neat and tidy library hall situated between modern glass facades and historic columns.

© Marcell Nimfuehr

The Main Library of the University of Vienna definitely belongs on this list, although it is currently undergoing renovation and redevelopment that is expected to last until 2027.

© WienTourismus/Gregor Hofbauer

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