Klimt at the Burgtheater
From 1886 to 1888, the trio of artists worked at dizzying heights. They painted scenes from the history of theater, from antiquity to the end of the 19th century. At that time, the Klimt brothers and Franz Matsch were in high demand. Altogether, they created ten works for the Burgtheater on Vienna’s Ringstrasse. Visitors can admire Gustav Klimt’s 30-square-meter ceiling painting up close during exclusive tours with a maximum of ten participants until June 2026. “Theater in Taormina”.
Klimt Ceiling Paintings at the Burgtheater
250 years of the Burgtheater
The tours begin at the Kaiserstiege, on the right-hand side of the theater. There, visitors can admire the newly renovated ceiling paintings from the Feststiege. Next, the tour continues to the Angelika Prokopp Foyer, where Klimt’s original design drawings are on display. The highlight of the tour is the ascent onto the scaffolding, put up for renovation works on the staircase on the left side of the theater. As well as the “Theater in Taormina,” visitors can also admire close-up the paintings “Altar des Apollo” (Altar of Apollo), “Antiker Improvisator” (Ancient Improviser), “Mittelalterliche Mysterienbühne” (Medieval Mystery Play) (all by Franz Matsch) and “Hanswurst auf der Jahrmarktsbühne” (Hanswurst on the Fairground Stage) by Ernst Klimt. In the painting “Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre,” all three artists are immortalized as theatergoers, making it the only painted self-portrait of Gustav Klimt.
The spectacular display on the grand staircase was put up to mark the 250th anniversary of the Burgtheater as Austria’s national theater, as well as the ongoing renovation work. In 1776, Emperor Joseph II gave the theater the title of “German National Theater”. This makes it one of the oldest surviving and largest spoken-word theaters in Europe.
Information about the tours
The tours are offered in German and English.
Written summaries are available in English, Italian, French, Spanish, and Japanese.
Please note: Visitors may only access the scaffolding wearing sturdy footwear with non-slip soles.
Burgtheater Painting Cycle on Google Arts & Culture
More stops on the Klimt Walk:
- A Klimt Walk through Vienna
- Klimt’s Ceiling Paintings
- Beethoven Frieze by Klimt
- Art at Karlsplatz
- The Leopold Collection
- The Formative Years of a Genius
- A Kiss Makes History
- Universitätsring 2, 1010 Wien
- tickets@burgtheater.at
- info@burgtheater.at
- https://www.burgtheater.at
Guided tours
Mo,Thu, Fri: 4 p.m.; Sun&Public Holidays: 11 a.m.
Guided tours in English on selected days: information at tickets.burgtheater.at
Guided tour in German with written explanations in English, French, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Japanese.
(subject to change)
Accessibility
(Double swinging doors 170 cm wide)
Ramp 300 cm wide
3 Parking spaces for people with disabilities
in the Burgtheater parking lot – Volksgarten side
Seeing eye dogs allowed
12 Wheelchair spaces available (in the auditorium, access with the elevator)
Wheelchair accessible restroom available.
At each performance, the Burgtheater provides places in the stalls with acoustic amplification by means of induction for visitors who wear a hearing aid. The acoustic signal is also amplified for all visitors. This can be received in the theater during the performance on radio frequency 99.2 MHz using a radio receiver, mobile telephone or MP3 player with radio reception. Please bring your own headset.
Special tours for visitors with disabilities and special needs on prior notification.
Prior notification is necessary for visitors with wheelchairs for admission tickets and tours. Tel. +43 1 514 44-4545, tickets@burgtheater.at
The spoken texts of selected performances can be read along with the app (German, English and other languages)
