Papyrus Museum

Your Vienna PASS advantage

Free entry to the Papyrus Museum of the Austrian National Library

Normal Price: Adult: € 5,00*; Child: free

*Combined ticket for the Globe, Esperanto and Papyrus Museum

Papyrusmuseum_Architekturfotos_innen_1 — (c)Österreichische Nationalbibliothek

Papyrusmuseum_Architekturfotos_innen_2 — (c)Österreichische Nationalbibliothek

Papyrusmuseum_Architekturfotos_innen_4 — (c)Österreichische Nationalbibliothek

Papyrusmuseum_Roemischer Vertrag_P.Vindob — (c)Österreichische Nationalbibliothek

Papyrusmuseum_Totenbuch_Sesostris_Ausschnitt — (c)Österreichische Nationalbibliothek

The Papyrus Museum of the Austrian National Library has around 400 unique objects from three millennia of Egyptian culture on display. After a comprehensive relaunch, the museum is presented in a modern ambience with a new welcome room, large-scale wall illustrations and a new lighting concept . In order to enable a varied museum experience for a wide variety of target groups, the permanent exhibition has been supplemented by several media stations, there is also an audio guide in German and English, an experience room on the ancient cult of the dead and an expanded children's area for the cultural education program.

In addition to the Book of the Dead and mummy portraits, there are different scripts in numerous languages on papyrus, that make the museum famous: From spells on an amulet for protection against illnesses to a lease contract for an oil mill, they document the diversity of cultures on the Nile from the 15th century BC to the 15th century AD.

The fully preserved mummy portrait of a woman from the 2nd century AD, which was painted on wood with the technique of encaustic painting.
The Book of the Dead of Taruma from the 2nd century BC. The two scrolls written in hieratic script have a total length of 8.6 metres and let us experience the religious beliefs and social norms of Old Egypt.

Did you know:

- All objects in the museum belong to the Papyrus Collection of the Austrian National Library, which has over 180,000 objects and is on the UNESCO World Documentary Heritage list?

- The Book of the Dead of Sesostris from the 15th century BC displayed in the museum is the oldest object in the National Library?

Things to see

Fragment from „Orestes“

See the unique fragment from the first chorus of the tragedy “Orestes” of the classical Greek poet Euripides. This papyrus document, written around 200-180 BC, contains lyrics as well as vocal and instrumental symbols. The Papyrus Museum allows visitors to listen to a modern interpretation of the song.