Austrian National Library State Hall

The Prunksaal, the State Hall of the Austrian National Library, is the room that makes people gasp when they step inside, and it is one of the best-value sights in Vienna. Emperor Charles VI commissioned it in 1723 as the imperial court library, and it was designed by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, the great architect of Viennese Baroque, and completed by his son Joseph Emanuel. The result is a hall almost eighty metres long, divided into two long wings and a central oval beneath a high dome, and lined from floor to gallery with carved walnut bookcases. On them stand more than 200,000 volumes printed between 1501 and 1850, their spines in gold, brown and cream; they are too fragile to be read today, but as a single display of the book as an object of beauty and power, nothing in Europe surpasses it. Overhead, the court painter Daniel Gran covered the dome and vaults with a vast fresco glorifying the emperor and the arts and sciences, and below it, in the centre of the oval, stands a marble statue of Charles VI surrounded by sixteen statues of Habsburg rulers. The cases around the oval hold the library of Prince Eugene of Savoy, around 15,000 volumes bound in red, blue and yellow morocco leather, which the emperor acquired after the prince's death and placed at the very heart of the hall. Look also for the pair of great Venetian Baroque globes, each more than a metre across, and the changing exhibitions of manuscripts, maps and rare books set out in cases along the wings. The hall underwent a careful restoration of its gilding, stucco, marble and shelving in 2022, and it now looks as fresh as it has in decades. Admission is about twelve euros, with reductions, which for a room of this calibre is excellent value.

How to visit: the entrance is on Josefsplatz, the elegant square inside the Hofburg between the Augustinian Church and the Spanish Riding School, a few minutes from Michaelerplatz. Tickets are sold at the desk and online. The hall opens daily in summer and is closed on Mondays from October to May, with one late evening a week; check the current hours. A visit takes forty-five minutes to an hour, longer if the current exhibition interests you. Guided tours in English and German run on a regular schedule and add a great deal of detail about the books, the fresco programme and the imperial politics behind the building.

Getting the most from it: walk the length of one wing slowly, then stand in the centre of the oval beneath the dome and look up; the fresco and the architecture are designed to be read from this point. Then look closely at Prince Eugene's bindings in the oval and at the globes. Photography for personal use has generally been allowed without flash, and early mornings or the late opening are the best times to see the hall without groups. The National Library also runs several smaller museums nearby, including the Literature Museum and the Globe Museum, which share ticket combinations with the State Hall and make an easy add-on.

Who it suits: history buffs and book lovers above all, but really anyone; it is one of those places that even reluctant museum visitors remember. It suits couples looking for a beautiful half-hour in the Hofburg and first-time visitors short on time who want one breathtaking Baroque interior. Pair it with the Spanish Riding School and the Augustinian Church on the same square, the Imperial Treasury in the Schweizerhof and the Albertina a few steps away, or with a classic coffee house on the Kohlmarkt afterwards.