The Vienna Secession building was completed in 1898.
Designed by Joseph Maria Olbrich, the exhibition hall was built between 1897 and 1898 as the architectural headquarters and manifesto of the Vienna Secession. The movement had formed in 1897 when artists broke away from Vienna’s traditional Künstlerhaus establishment, seeking greater freedom for modern art and exhibition design.
The building’s white exterior, geometric massing, and distinctive dome of gilded laurel leaves made it a visual symbol of the movement. Its motto, “To every age its art, to every art its freedom,” appears above the entrance, expressing the Secessionists’ rejection of academic artistic restrictions.
The building is often confused with the Vienna Secession movement itself. The movement began in 1897, while the exhibition hall followed and opened in 1898. It was created to host exhibitions, including works by Gustav Klimt and other Secession artists. Klimt’s Beethoven Frieze, made for the group’s 1902 exhibition, remains one of its best-known artistic associations.