★★★★★ 5.0
Discover
Kunst Haus Wien. Museum Hundertwasser
The ground beneath your feet isn't level... and that's completely intentional. Built inside a 1892 Thonet furniture factory on Untere Weißgerberstraße, this five-story building was transformed between 1989 and 1991 by Friedensreich Hundertwasser himself, working alongside architect Peter Pelikan. Hundertwasser famously rejected straight lines entirely—he called rigid architecture "the first step toward chaos." Look up at the façade surrounding you... those aren't random tiles. Each ceramic piece was carefully placed by hand, in symmetrical patterns with deliberately varied sizes. Inside, you'll find 1,500 square meters of exhibition space displaying the world's largest collection of Hundertwasser's paintings, tapestries, and graphic works. Climb the intentionally uneven staircase and notice the living plants integrated into rooms, the wooded terrace on the top floor where Hundertwasser maintained his personal studio apartment, even the museum café designed like a winter garden. This building isn't just a museum—it's Hundertwasser's manifesto in concrete, ceramic, and green. Every undulating floor, every spiral motif, every plant reminds us that the Viennese artist who revolutionized twentieth-century art refused to accept that buildings must be boxes.
Did You Know?
- :KunstHausWien is the world's only museum with a permanent exhibition dedicated to Friedensreich Hundertwasser, making it a unique cultural landmark that preserves and celebrates the legacy of one of Austria's most visionary 20th-century artists.
- The building itself is a masterpiece of Hundertwasser's architectural philosophy: it features undulating floors, colorful mosaic facades with carefully arranged, non-industrial mosaic stones, and intentionally concealed floor boundaries, all designed to rebel against the 'false order of the straight line' and create a living work of art.
- KunstHausWien was the first museum in Austria to receive the official Austrian Environmental Label, reflecting Hundertwasser's deep ecological commitment—visitors can see grass roofs, trees planted in the façade, and sustainable design elements that make it Vienna's pioneering 'green museum.'