The federal museums achieved their best value so far with nearly 7.8 million visits in 2024. Exactly 7,771,555 guests were attracted to the institutions - an increase of 5.86 percent compared to the previous record year 2023 (7,341,032), as Culture Minister Werner Kogler (Greens) announced in a press release on Thursday. There were increases for almost all locations - with the exception of the Technical and Natural History Museums as well as the mumok.

Around 7.8 Million Guests in Federal Museums

The Kunsthistorisches Museum or the KHM Association recorded the highest number of visitors in absolute terms, pushing the Österreichische Galerie Belvedere to second place. 1,954,269 people visited the KHM institutions, which corresponds to a remarkable increase of 15.74 percent. The Belvedere recorded 1,867,915 visits - an increase of 1.85 percent. The third place was taken by the Albertina, including its branches Albertina modern and Albertina Klosterneuburg. The three locations welcomed a total of 1,321,385 interested visitors - an increase of 11.95 percent compared to 2023.

The highest percentage increase of 20.76 percent was recorded by the Austrian National Library (including the House of Austrian History, excluding the reading room) with 872,233 visits. The MAK (Museum of Applied Arts) achieved a slight gain, attracting 174,476 people (an increase of 1.67 percent).

Significant Decline in the Technical Museum

There were declines in the Natural History and Technical Museums. The former recorded 971,061 guests in 2024, 3.72 percent less than in 2023, while the latter had to accept a decrease of 9.22 percent to now 467,894 visitors. The mumok (Museum of Modern Art Ludwig Foundation Vienna) saw a decrease of about one-third, with 142,322 visits (a decrease of 35.41 percent). This is not surprising, however, as the institution in the Museumsquartier was closed for renovations from January 8 to June 6, 2024.

Kogler expressed his delight over "the great work in the museums," which has once again been rewarded with a record. The Vice Chancellor and Culture Minister also pointed to the positive response regarding the new federal museums card. Since its introduction in July of the previous year, the card, which allows unlimited entry to all federal museum locations for one year at a price of 99 euros, was sold 28,585 times by the end of the year. This resulted in around 80,000 visits, it was reported.

(APA/Red)

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