Vienna
The Albertina is a palace on Vienna's old walls and one of the world's great museums of drawings and prints. Its name comes from Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen.
A palace on the walls
The palace was built between 1742 and 1745 on the site of an imperial building yard. It was enlarged in the early 1800s by the architect Louis Montoyer.
It stands on the Augustinerbastei, a stretch of the fortifications built in the 1500s. That is why the museum entrance is so high up.
A collector of drawings
Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen collected drawings and prints all his life. His collection is the heart of the museum.
Bombs and rebirth
In 1945 the palace was badly damaged. After the war the façade was simplified and the ramp was shortened.
Between 1996 and 2003 the museum was renovated from top to bottom. New halls, an underground storeroom and a modern entrance were added.
A huge museum
The Albertina holds about a million drawings and prints, from the Renaissance to the present day. There are sheets by great masters and works by modern artists.
Works on paper are fragile and sensitive to light. That is why the collection is kept in an underground storeroom. The halls show only a small part of it at a time.
