MAK – Museum of Applied Arts
The 1863 imperial craft museum that paid for a screensaver in bitcoin before most banks had a policy on it.
Coming soon on iOS — be first to walk Vienna offline.
Founded by Emperor Franz Joseph I on the model of London's V&A, MAK spans applied arts and design, architecture, and contemporary work. In 2015 it became the first museum to acquire art via bitcoin — a screensaver called "Event listeners." After dark, James Turrell's permanent light installation "MAKlite" has bathed the Ringstrasse facade in color since 2004.
What to look for
- James Turrell's "MAKlite" — the permanent outdoor light work on the 1871 building, visible after dusk from Stubenring
- Van den Dorpel's "Event listeners" — the bitcoin-purchased screensaver that made MAK a footnote in crypto history
- The scale of the collection: over 300,000 objects catalogued online, the largest digital holdings of any Austrian Federal Museum
Audio guide runs as a web app on your phone — no separate download. The museum is at Stubenring 5 in the 1st district.
MAK – Museum of Applied Arts is one of 39 sights worth the detour in Vienna, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Vienna pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Vienna
- Schönbrunn PalaceHabsburg emperors were born here, ruled from here, and died here — 1,441 rooms of Baroque ambition spanning 300 years.
- St. Stephen's CathedralA cathedral consecrated in 1147 as crusaders prepared to march — and built on top of a Roman burial ground that nobody knew was there until 2000.
- BelvederePrince Eugene built this summer palace on Ottoman campaign winnings — it is now three art museums inside a World Heritage Baroque garden.
- Hofburg PalaceSeven centuries of Austrian rulers worked from this address — the current president still does.
- Vienna State OperaThe first major building on Vienna's Ring Road, and the house where Vienna Philharmonic musicians earn their seats.
- Ernst-Happel-StadionBuilt for workers' sport in 1931, this 50,865-seat bowl also served as a transit prison for over 1,000 Jewish deportees in 1939.