Austria

A spacious library with long wooden tables and chairs arranged in rows, tall bookshelves filled with books on two levels, large windows letting in natural light, and two levels of mezzanines with ornate railings. There is a spiral staircase at the back.

Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Tirol

Completed on the eve of the First World War, the university library of Innsbruck first served as a military hospital before it could open.
A spacious library with wooden floors, rows of bookshelves filled with books, study tables with chairs, a ladder by the shelves, and a ceiling decorated with a baroque fresco.

Bibliothek der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften

For over 150 years, the library that saw the birth of higher education in Vienna laid all but forgotten, ending up as a table tennis court for policemen. A spectacular renovation brought it back to life.
Interior of a library inside a Renaissance palazzo, showing a long and narrow reading room with work tables lining both walls. Between large vaulted windows, the walls are decorated with frescoes depicting maps.

PLUS Teilbibliotheken Alte Residenz

In the corridors of Salzburg's Alte Residenz, a heavy iron door opens to a world of rediscovered treasures and secret passages.
Exterior view of a Jugendstil subway stop marked Burggasse and surrounded by commuters. Behind the station is a contemporary glass and orange cladding building composed of two symmetrical shapes separated by a narrow space.

Hauptbücherei Wien

Ideally connected to public transit, forward-looking while respecting its heritage and reaching across class divides, the Vienna main library perfectly represents the city.
Futuristic architectural interior featuring curved white walls, large windows, and multiple levels. The ceiling has linear light fixtures and skylights.

Universitätsbibliothek der WU Wien

The Library and Learning Centre at the Vienna University of Economics and Business is an impressive building raising on the ashes of an even grander one.