Gregor-Mendel-Haus

In 1872, a university and its library were established in Vienna’s 8th district. This institution, now known as the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, would eventually find its home in the Gregor-Mendel-Haus. The Gregor-Mendel-Haus, originally housing both the university and its library, began with a collection donated by the Austrian-Hungarian monarchy’s ministry of agriculture. By 1876, the library’s holdings had grown to nearly 10,000 volumes, bolstered by gifts and new acquisitions, including the library of the former forestry academy in Mariabrunn. The library at Gregor-Mendel-Haus opened to the public in 1893. A library committee was formed, and the entire collection was meticulously cataloged. In the autumn of 1896, the university and library relocated to a new main building in Vienna’s 19th district, an area known as Türkenschanze. The library within the Gregor-Mendel-Haus expanded significantly. The new space included a reading room with 52 seats and a five-story stack room. However, the library at Gregor-Mendel-Haus quickly outgrew these new quarters. By 1960, the main library moved to the Wilhelm-Exner-House, a former hospital. Around 40,000 volumes remained in the stack tower of the Gregor-Mendel-Haus at Gregor-Mendel-Straße 33. The Gregor-Mendel-Haus continues to be part of the university’s history.