A break from traditional art

Noteworthy for: The new exhibition hall, also known as the Temple of Art, is an important piece of Viennese architecture, exemplifying the Art Nouveau ‘Jugendstil’ movement.

The impetus for the creation of the Vienna Secession House came from a disparate group of local artists, who broke away from the established artistic norms prevailing in the city’s art academy at the time, around 1897. With their newfound freedom, they set about creating artistic forms that weren’t shackled down by traditions from the past.

The Secession House, founded by Josef Hoffman, Kolo Moser, Gustav Klimt, Max Kurzweil and a host of others, is now a repository for the visual arts, ranging from furniture, glass and metal work to paintings, prints and sculpture. Any fan of contemporary art should drop by for a tour. Even the exhibition hall, designed by Joseph M. Olbrich, was constructed with the Secession aesthetic in mind.