The Neue Burg

As if the main complex of the Hofburg Palace wasn’t big enough for a day, the Neue Burg (New Castle), the newest part of the Hofburg Palace in the form of a separate curved wing that occurred after the demolition of the city walls in 1860 deserves a separate mention not just because of its architectural value per se but also due to the 3 important museums housed under its roof.

What was intended to be a two-winged Imperial Forum that would reach beyond Ringstrasse, with the twin museums, the Kunsthistorisches & Naturhistorisches Museum at its flanks was never completed to its full extent. A part of it that was erected became the perfect setting for the amazing Ephesus Museum, a distinct section of the Kunsthistorisches Museum with unique Greek antiquities? It became the home of the Collection of Arms & Armour showcasing one of the largest exhibitions of Medieval weaponry in the world.

The home of the Collection of Ancient Musical Instruments with a selection of all sorts of instruments dating back hundreds of years and finally the home of the Weltmuseum, the Museum of Ethnology with historic artifacts coming from all corners of the earth.

The magnificent Neue Burg is also the house of the reading rooms of the Austrian National Library and Papyrus Museum & the Hofburg Congress Center of international renown. The main balcony of Neue Berg was also the setting of Adolf Hitler’s speech to the Austrian people gathered in the Heroes’ Square (Heldenplatz) in March of 1938. More