Papyrus Museum Vienna

The Austrian National Library’s Vienna Papyrus Collection is one of the world’s most important collections of its kind.Its headquarters are in Vienna’s Neue Burg, and it has around 180,000 artefacts spanning 3000 years of Egyptian history (c. 1500 BC-1500 AD).The collection includes a papyrus museum, which, in addition to a permanent display on Egyptian civilizations, hosts special exhibitions on certain papyrology themes at regular intervals.The collection also includes a large papyrological library with over 19,500 items.The collection’s mission is to preserve and restore the papyri, as well as conduct scientific study and publish this valuable source for ancient and medieval history.

The papyrus collection Archduke Rainer (1st Fayyumer Fund), the collection’s nucleus, was inducted into UNESCO’s Memory of the World (World Document Heritage) registry in 2001.

The collection’s major concentration is on Arabic, Greek, and Coptic items.The Greek collection is the greatest, with the Byzantine era of Egypt dominating.The majority of the charters are paperwork, but there are also literary works of considerable value among them.The Arabic collection is the world’s biggest relevant closed collection.The majority of the collection is made up of documents, many of which are already written on paper, which has been used as a primary writing medium since the 9th century.The Coptic inventory is significant chiefly for its literary, biblical, and liturgical texts.Around 19,500 books are housed in the specialty library.

The papyrus collection’s permanent exhibition views itself as a museum of Egyptian cultures.It covers a wide range of topics, including death cult, magic, medicine, eating habits, music, theology, literature, and everyday life.Around 400 exhibits depict ancient and medieval Egyptian living conditions. In addition to papyri, there are pieces on parchment and ostraca, as well as the papyrus production process.A piece from Euripides’ play Orestes is especially worth seeing and hearing, as it has been newly arranged to music using current technology and provides every visitor an impression of ancient chorus singing.In 2020/21, the museum grounds and display idea were completely remodeled and refurbished.A replica of the Tabula Peutingeriana, numerous multimedia stations, a freshly designed audio tour, and an expanded children’s section have been added to the museum, in addition to the old originals.Special exhibitions on different ancient subjects accompany the main show at regular intervals.