Kaiserlich Hofmobilien Depot (Imperial Furniture Collection)

Frommer's Review

A collection spanning 3 centuries of royal acquisitions, this museum is a treasure house of the Habsburg attics. Exhibits range from the throne of the Emperor Francis Joseph and Prince Rudolf's cradle to a forest of coat racks and some 15,000 chairs. At the end of World War I, with the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the new republic inherited this horde of property. Empress Maria Theresa established the collection in 1747; it now totals some 55,000 objects.

The collection includes prized examples of decorative and applied arts, and is particularly rich in Biedermeier furnishings, which characterized the era from 1815 to 1848. Particularly stunning is Maria Theresa's imposing desk of palissander (an exotic wood) marquetry with a delicate bone inlay. The modern world also intrudes, with pieces designed by such 20th-century Viennese architects such as Adolf Loos and Otto Wagner. The collection occupies a century-old warehouse complex halfway between Hofburg Palace and Schönbrunn Palace. Allow about 2 1/2 hours to visit the three floors. Expect cheek-by-jowl bric-a-brac.

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