This year, Monument Day will once again take place throughout Austria on September 28. This year’s motto is: “Preserve monuments, experience them digitally”. Accordingly, digitalization plays a central role in the programme. Over 300 guided tours and events and more than 250 program items await you throughout Austria. Vienna is participating with 55 monuments and numerous events for young and old await you.
What is Monument Day?
Monument Day has its origins in France. In 1984, the idea was born to make monuments accessible to the public in order to learn more about their own cultural heritage and how to preserve it. These days have since spread throughout Europe as “European Heritage Days” and take place annually in September. In Austria, Heritage Day has been held on the last Sunday in September since 1995. In recent years, more and more monuments near the border in Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Hungary have also been included.
Program points: What to expect in Vienna
Look forward to a varied program and discover 55 monuments that are not normally accessible to you. These include churches, museums, palaces and important Art Nouveau buildings. In interesting exhibitions and on exciting guided tours, you will learn interesting facts about the history of the buildings and the efforts to preserve the cultural heritage. These are some of the sites you can visit:
- Palais Niederösterreich: half-hour guided tours between 10 am and 4 pm through the former state house provide insights into its history.
- Ehrbar Hall: Guided tours between 10 am and 12:30 pm, free drinks and snacks on site.
- State Hall of the Austrian National Library: special guided tours for children at 10:30 and 13:30, other guided tours from 10 am to 5 pm.
- Hofburg: Presentation of a project on the digitization of plaster figures, guided tours of the plaster cellar and special fire safety tours conducted by the Burghauptmannschaft from 09:30 to 16:30.
- Federal Ministry of Finance: Guided tours of Prince Eugene’s winter palace between 10am and 3pm.
- St. Bartholomew’s Chapel in St. Stephen’s Cathedral: Guided tours of the chapel from 11 am to 4 pm, no registration necessary.
- Former Postal Directorate: Preview of the MUSEUM OF CHANGE at 7:30 pm, plus sound and music installations, preceded by guided tours between 12 and 5 pm.
- French Embassy: Guided tours of the embassy between 10 am and 5 pm.
- Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky Center: Guided tours of the architect’s former apartment between 10 am and 4 pm.
- Schönborpark air raid shelter: A rally for children and 60-minute guided tours of the bunker between 3 and 6 pm.
- Otto Wagner House: Guided tours with an architect between 2 and 4 pm.
All other participating monuments and their programs as well as important information can be found here. Some of the guided tours require prior registration, but participation is always free of charge.