The National Library is housed in the Hofburg Palce in Vienna and is considered the largest library in Austria. It was designed by the Viennese architect Fischer von Erlach between 1723 and 1726 and it now holds about seven million items.

The items you’ll find here include manuscripts, books, maps, pictures, prints, autographs and portraits. The Map and Globe collection on the 3rd floor has proven to be a very popular section. It contains about 240,000 maps (some dating back to the 16th century) and about 380 globes (most dominant ones being the Mercator and Coronelli globes). The Hall of Honor is another popular area in the Library with its fascinating ceiling frescos. You’ll find statues of Paul and Peter and thousands of gold-stamped books.

Other sections and collections in the building include the Augustine Reading Room, The Papyrus collection, The Manuscripts collection (containing nearly every culture) and the Picture and Music collections. This place really is a must see and you’ll be overwhelmed by the amount of collections on display here.