Smart Self-Managed Tours

Historisches Denkmal · Innere Stadt, Wien

Maria-Theresien-Denkmal

Foto

Ein Foto von Maria-Theresien-Denkmal
Foto · C.Stadler/Bwag · CC BY-SA 4.0
Heute
Heute geöffnet, 00:00 – 23:59
Besuchsdauer
15 Min
Barrierefreiheit
Stufenlos
Preis
Nicht erfasst
Einordnung
Muss man gesehen haben · Kulturerbe
Rang
Rang 49 von 5,640

Ortsangaben und Quellen

Dieser Ort ist ein Sehenswürdigkeit. Er wurde 1888 eröffnet. Er trägt die Denkmalschutzkategorie Denkmalgeschütztes Objekt in Österreich.

Offizielle Website
www.geschichtewiki.wien.gv.at OpenStreetMap · Geprüft am 2026-09-09
Rollstuhlzugang
Verfügbar OpenStreetMap · Geprüft am 2026-09-09
Denkmalschutzstufe
Stufe 2 OpenStreetMap · Geprüft am 2026-09-09
Ortstyp
Sehenswürdigkeit OpenStreetMap · Geprüft am 2026-09-09
Gründung
1874 Wikidata · Geprüft am 2026-09-09
Denkmalschutzstatus
Denkmalgeschütztes Objekt in Österreich Wikidata · Geprüft am 2026-09-09
Höhe
1936 Meter Wikidata · Geprüft am 2026-09-09
Eröffnet
1888 Wikidata · Geprüft am 2026-09-09
Architekt
Carl von Hasenauer OpenStreetMap · Geprüft am 2026-09-09
Urheber
Carl von Hasenauer;Caspar von Zumbusch OpenStreetMap · Geprüft am 2026-09-09
Urheber
Caspar Ritter von Zumbusch Wikidata · Geprüft am 2026-09-09
Urheber
Carl von Hasenauer Wikidata · Geprüft am 2026-09-09
Wikipedia-Artikel
Maria-Theresien-Denkmal (Wien) Wikipedia · Geprüft am 2026-09-09

Über Maria-Theresien-Denkmal

The Maria Theresa Monument is a large bronze-and-marble monument to the Habsburg empress, standing at the centre of Maria-Theresien-Platz on Vienna's Ringstrasse, exactly between the Kunsthistorisches Museum (Museum of Art History) and the Naturhistorisches Museum (Museum of Natural History), the twin museum buildings the square was laid out to face each other across. It was unveiled in 1888, sculpted by Caspar von Zumbusch after a design competition held decades earlier, and stands roughly twenty metres tall including its pedestal — one of the largest single monuments on the Ringstrasse, and deliberately positioned as the centrepiece of the whole Ringstrasse museum quarter around it, with Maria-Theresien-Platz laid out symmetrically to frame it.

The square and its museums were part of the same nineteenth-century Ringstrasse building programme that produced the Kunsthistorisches and Naturhistorisches museums either side of it, so the monument's placement is not an afterthought but the point the twin buildings were designed to face.

Geprüft 2026-08-20 · Quelle

Was ist drin?

There is no interior — it is an outdoor sculptural monument, not a building. Maria Theresa sits enthroned at the top, holding the Pragmatic Sanction, the legal document that secured her succession, and is shown in the robes of the Order of the Starry Cross rather than in military dress.

Around the base, bronze equestrian statues depict four of her generals — Laudon, Daun, Khevenhüller and Traun — while niches and reliefs lower down carry figures representing her ministers, advisors and the era's arts and sciences, so the monument reads as a summary of her reign rather than a single portrait. Allegorical figures representing justice, wisdom, strength and mercy sit at the four corners of the base, tying the military and civilian groupings together under a single reading of the reign as a whole.

Geprüft 2026-08-20 · Quelle

Empfohlene Besuchsdauer

Ten to fifteen minutes to walk around the base and read the figures, longer if combined with the two museums it stands between, each of which is a half-day visit on its own. A visitor who reads every figure and inscription rather than glancing at the whole from a distance can easily spend half an hour circling the base alone, since the four sides carry different groupings that do not repeat.

Geprüft 2026-08-20 · Quelle

Jahreszeit und Menschenmassen

Any time — it is outdoors, unticketed and always visible, at its best photographically in the low light of early morning or early evening when the square is quieter and the bronze catches direct light. Winter visits find the square nearly empty compared with the summer museum crowds, at the cost of shorter daylight for photographing the monument at its best angle.

Geprüft 2026-08-20 · Quelle

Tickets

Free; there is no fee and no gate around the monument or the square it stands in. The two museums flanking it charge separate admission, and neither ticket is required to see or photograph the monument itself from the square.

Geprüft 2026-08-20 · Quelle

Ankommen

On the Ringstrasse at Maria-Theresien-Platz, a two-minute walk from the MuseumsQuartier or from Volkstheater and Museumsquartier U-Bahn stations (U2, U3), directly between the two museum buildings. The square also sits on the tram lines running along the Ring, so a visitor arriving from the Hofburg or the Parliament building can step off directly at its edge.

Geprüft 2026-08-20 · Quelle

Worauf Sie achten sollten

The square is a through-route between the MuseumsQuartier and the Ring, so it carries heavy foot traffic and tour groups most of the day rather than being a quiet standalone stop. The monument itself needs no separate visit if the plan already includes either museum, since it stands directly on the path between their entrances. Because the square is fully open and outdoors, it also sees occasional markets and public events set up around its edges, which can crowd the sightlines to the monument's base at short notice on those dates.

Geprüft 2026-08-20 · Quelle

Fotografie

A straight-on shot from the square's central path, with one of the museum domes framing the background, is the standard image; early morning avoids both the crowd and the harsh midday shadow that falls across the figures at the base. A wide lens is needed to take in the full twenty-metre height from close range, and stepping back to one of the museum entrances gives enough distance to fit the whole monument without one.

Evening floodlighting, when it runs, changes the character of the shot entirely, throwing the bronze figures into sharper relief than daylight does; whether the floodlighting operates on a fixed nightly schedule or only for specific events is not confirmed on the sources this guide draws from. A tripod is rarely necessary given how open and well-lit the square stays into the early evening, even when the museums themselves have closed for the day.

Geprüft 2026-08-20 · Quelle

Häufige Fragen

Is the Maria Theresa Monument free to see?

Yes, it stands outdoors in a public square with no ticket or gate.

Who is shown at the base?

Four of Maria Theresa's generals — Laudon, Daun, Khevenhüller and Traun — on horseback, with her ministers and advisors in reliefs and niches below her.

What is she holding?

The Pragmatic Sanction, the document that secured her succession to the Habsburg throne.

How tall is it?

Roughly twenty metres including the pedestal, one of the largest monuments on the Ringstrasse.

Which museums does it stand between?

The Kunsthistorisches Museum and the Naturhistorisches Museum, facing each other across the square.

Does visiting it need a ticket?

No, only the two museums it stands between are ticketed; the monument and the square are free.

Wo es ist

In der Nähe

In 3 Gehminuten
  • Der Große Elefant 1 Stunde
    1 Minuten Fußweg · Innere Stadt

    Der Große Elefant

    • Bemerkenswert
    • Kunst- und Kulturort
  • Figur Rossebändiger 1 Stunde
    1 Minuten Fußweg · Innere Stadt

    Figur Rossebändiger

    • Bemerkenswert · Kulturerbe
    • Kunst- und Kulturort
  • Johannes-Nepomuk-Statue 45 Min
    3 Minuten Fußweg · Neubau

    Johannes-Nepomuk-Statue

    • Hoch · Kulturerbe
    • Historisches Denkmal

Zuletzt aktualisiert:

Quelle: OpenStreetMap-Mitwirkende, Wikidata ·