The Art Sensation: MAK Displays Lost Works of Klimt

On May 8, 1945, the day of Nazi Germany's capitulation, the Lower Austrian Schloss Immendorf went up in flames. The building, which served as an art depot during World War II, housed works by Gustav Klimt, among others. Many of these works are still considered burned, destroyed, or missing. A new exhibition at the MAK – Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna now addresses the circumstances of this fateful event.

Unclear Course of the Fire

Schloss Immendorf was owned by the Freudenthal family and became a storage site for numerous paintings and drawings in the last years of the war. That a significant collection of Klimt works was housed there is documented by historical sources. The exact course of the fire that destroyed the castle on the last day of the war is still not fully clarified. Eyewitness accounts, archival documents, and photographs shed light on individual details – however, a comprehensive picture does not exist.

Exhibition with Historical Depth

The exhibition "Gustav Klimt, the MAK and Schloss Immendorf – burned, destroyed, missing?" opens on July 15, 2025, at 7 PM at the MAK. Admission to the opening is free. Visitors can expect a comprehensive engagement with the cultural loss of 1945, supplemented by rarely shown documents, visual materials, and reconstructions. The exhibition not only addresses the fire itself but also the role of the MAK in the conservation and research of Klimt's works.

A Place of Remembrance and Reappraisal

With the exhibition, the MAK creates a space for critical reflection: How does a country deal with the loss of its cultural heritage? What responsibility do museums have for the reappraisal of such events? The exhibition does not aim to provide definitive answers, but rather to contribute to making a forgotten chapter of Austrian art history more visible.

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