Egyptian treasures at Miramare: Archduke’s collection returns to Trieste

Among the many wonders of Miramare Castle and its gardens, not everyone knows that Archduke Maximilian of Habsburg once envisioned creating an Egyptian museum here. His collection left Trieste in 1891, bound for the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, but this year part of it returns to Miramare thanks to a special exhibition and an international collaboration between the two cities.
The exhibition “A Sphinx lures him. Maximilian of Habsburg and the Egyptian collections between Trieste and Vienna” will be hosted at the Castle’s Stables and will be open to visitors until November 1, 2026.

Archduke Maximilian’s collection and the dream of an Egyptian museum

Archduke Maximilian of Habsburg was deeply fascinated by Egyptian culture, yet he did not see his collection merely as a symbol of personal prestige. His ambition was to establish an Egyptian museum at Miramare, intended not for private enjoyment but for study and public access.

He began acquiring artefacts in the early 1850s and later entrusted the Egyptologist Leo Reinisch with cataloguing the collection. After becoming Emperor of Mexico, Maximilian commissioned an extensive campaign of acquisitions in Egypt between 1865 and 1866. The museum project, however, was never completed, as he died at just thirty-five years old. His collection was transferred to Vienna in 1891, where it has remained ever since.

“A Sphinx lures him”: a journey through history and collecting

Curated by Massimo Osanna (Director General of Museums), Christian Greco (Director of the Egyptian Museum in Turin), and Cäcilia Bischoff and Michaela Hüttner of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, the exhibition brings together around one hundred artefacts that retrace the story of Maximilian’s collection.

From the first acquisitions to diplomatic missions, from the unrealised museum project in Miramare to the journey of the artefacts between Trieste, Mexico and Vienna, the exhibition offers a comprehensive narrative of both the collection and its historical context.

Alongside loans from Vienna, the exhibition also includes pieces from the Civic Museum of Antiquities J.J. Winckelmann in Trieste, highlighting how Maximilian’s interest in Egyptology reflected a broader cultural fascination within nineteenth-century Trieste. The exhibition also offers insights into the very concept of the museum in that period, when collecting was gradually shifting from a private pursuit to a public, research-oriented activity.

How to visit the exhibition

A rich programme of events accompanies the exhibition, including themed workshops led by Egyptologist Susanna Moser every fourth Sunday of the month, as well as family-friendly activities included in the ticket price.

“A Sphinx lures him. Maximilian of Habsburg and the Egyptian collections between Trieste and Vienna” will be open to the public from April 2 to November 1, 2026, with guided tours available on weekends at 3:00 pm.

For updated information on opening hours and tickets, you can consult the official website or contact the reception of the DoubleTree by Hilton Trieste.

Photo credits: F. Parenzan