Activities
Guided Tours and Presentations
Please note that registration for many of the side events is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. For further details, please see here.
Tracing Byzantium: Fragments of the Greek Middle Ages
Guided Tours by the Curators Through This Year’s Special Exhibition at the Papyrus Museum of the Austrian National Library
Explore this year’s special exhibition at the Papyrus Museum in the Austrian National Library, dedicated to the “fragment” in the Greek Middle Ages. We present physical fragments of written artefacts, textual fragments in novel contexts, and documents of individual life as fragments of society. Expect glances into the Byzantine everyday world beyond shimmering mosaics.
During the congress week, the curators Krystina Kubina and Giulia Rossetto offer guided tours through the exhibition.
Registration is required.
Sunday, 23 August 2026, 3:00 – 4:00 pm
Tuesday, 25 August 2026, 12:30 – 1:30 pm
Thursday, 27 August 2026, 12:30 – 1:30 pm
Venue: Papyrus Museum (Austrian National Library)
The event is wheelchair-accessible.
Registration fee: 12 €
Maximum participants: 25 per event date
Registration closes on 31 July 2026, 23:59 CEST
The Four Gospels in Syriac and Arabic: Biblical Philology and the Birth of Syriac Studies in Europe
Presentation of Manuscripts
Explore Ms. ÖNB Cod. Syr. 1, the 1554 gift securing patronage for the first Syriac printed Gospels (1555), launching Syriac studies in the West and now powering an HTR model. Alongside it, Cod. A. F. 97 showcases the philological methods used by medieval Coptic intellectuals to study the Gospels’ textual history.
Registration is required.
Tuesday, 25 August 2026, 4:15 – 6:00 pm
Entrance: Augustinerlesesaal, Josefsplatz 1, 1010 Wien
The event is not wheelchair-accessible.
Registration fee: 15 €
Maximum participants: 25
Registration closes on 31 July 2026, 23:59 CEST
Highlights of the Greek Manuscript Collection
Presentation of Manuscripts
The Austrian National Library preserves over 1000 Greek manuscripts, transmitting a wide range of historical, philological, theological, juridical, and medical works from classical antiquity and the Byzantine period. This presentation will focus on some of the collection’s highlights, including manuscripts of particular palaeographical and art-historical interest, important witnesses of classical texts, codices unici of Byzantine works, and autographs of Byzantine writers.
Registration is required.
Wednesday, 26 August 2026, 4:15 – 6:00 pm
Entrance: Augustinerlesesaal, Josefsplatz 1, 1010 Wien
The event is not wheelchair-accessible.
Registration fee: 15 €
Maximum participants: 25
Registration closes on 31 July 2026, 23:59 CEST
The Vienna Greek Palimpsests
Presentation of Manuscripts
The Austrian National Library possesses a significant number of Greek palimpsests. Since 2003, systematic research has been undertaken, leading to “discoveries” of Ancient Greek and Byzantine texts. Selected palimpsests of great importance will be presented, including unique witnesses. State-of-the-art digital technology allows us to see scripts that have been lost for centuries.
Registration is required.
Thursday, 27 August 2026, 4:15 – 6:00 pm
Entrance: Augustinerlesesaal, Josefsplatz 1, 1010 Wien
The event is not wheelchair-accessible.
Registration fee: 15 €
Maximum participants: 25
Registration closes on 31 July 2026, 23:59 CEST#
The Mekhitarist Monastery of Vienna
Guided Tour of One of the World’s Most Important Centers of Armenian Culture
During the guided tour of the Mekhitarist Monastery of Vienna, one of the most important centers of Armenian culture in the world, you will gain insights into its valuable holdings: over 2,600 manuscripts, 150,000 books, the largest collection of Armenian journals, as well as precious and unique art works from every corner of the globe.
Registration is required.
Monday, 24 August 2026, 3:00 – 5:00 pm
Friday, 28 August 2026, 3:00 – 5:00 pm
Venue: Mekhitarist Monastery
The event is not wheelchair-accessible.
Registration fee: 12 €
Maximum participants: 40 per event date
Registration closes on 31 July 2026, 23:59 CEST
Ephesos Museum
Guided Tour Focusing on the Austrian Excavations at Ephesus and Their Finds
Ephesus (Türkiye) was one of most important cities in the ancient world. Hit by severe earthquakes and the deterioration of its harbours, the city remained an important centre in late antiquity and the Byzantine period.
Austrian excavations in Ephesus started in 1895. Findings from the first years were brought to Vienna as a gift from the Sultan to the Austrian Emperor and are on display in the Ephesus Museum of the Kunsthistorisches Museum. Georg Plattner, director of the collection, will give an overview of old and new projects.
Registration is required.
Tuesday, 25 August 2026, 2:30 – 3:30 pm
Thursday, 27 August 2026, 2:30 – 3:30 pm
Venue: Ephesos Museum
The event is wheelchair-accessible.
Registration fee: 12 €
Maximum participants: 30 per event date
Registration closes on 31 July 2026, 23:59 CEST
St. Stephen’s Cathedral
Guided Tour of the Cathedral with Special Access to Selected Areas
St. Stephen’s Cathedral currently stands like a monument on a large square in the center of the Austrian capital. The tall pyramid-shaped tower and the gigantic roof made of colored glazed tiles are impressive. The entire design of the church embodies the highest quality art of international standing. The tour of the cathedral focuses on special highlights such as a visit to the Attic and St. Bartholomew’s Chapel with the “Herzogsscheiben,” a tour of Frederick’s tomb, and the “Fürstenportal” with the Depiction of the Fall of St. Paul.
Registration is required.
Wednesday, 26 August 2026, 9:30 – 11:30 am
Thursday, 27 August 2026, 9:30 – 11:30 am
Venue: St. Stephen’s Cathedral
The event is not wheelchair-accessible.
Registration fee: 5 €
Maximum participants: 25 per event date
Registration closes on 31 July 2026, 23:59 CEST