MuseumsQuartier, Vienna

MuseumsQuartier is a cultural complex rather than a single museum, and the historic enclosure around you makes that clear. The site opened in 2001 on the grounds of the former imperial court stables, bringing older Baroque buildings together with contemporary museum architecture. Look at the long historic façade and the newer museum volumes set within it: their contrast is a defining feature of the complex.

This is also an urban interior, with courtyards, passages and venues woven into the former stable grounds. The courtyards are freely accessible and used for events, performances, concerts, talks, screenings and seasonal programmes. Major institutions here include the Leopold Museum, MUMOK and Kunsthalle Wien, alongside spaces for architecture, dance, children's culture and cultural initiatives.

The complex covers 114,310 square metres, brings together 61 cultural institutions, and welcomes around five million visitors each year. At completion, it was the eighth-largest cultural area in the world. What you are seeing is therefore both a museum district and a public meeting place, where exhibitions, contemporary production and everyday city life occupy the same architectural setting.