iState Hall of the Austrian National Library (Prunksaal)Innere Stadt
The Special Exhibit: Erich Lessing: A Moment of Hope
Erich Lessing's contact sheet from Budapest on 28 October 1956, when the Hungarian Uprising briefly seemed won. Chosen by public vote, shown within Bridge of Humanity.
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Of the 19 frames Erich Lessing shot of a crowd celebrating in Budapest on 28 October 1956, the one he chose for prints and publication is the damaged one. The film was faulty and that picture is covered in spots; none of the others are. Linus Rapp of the Library's picture archive writes that nobody can say for certain why Lessing picked it.
You see both pieces side by side: the print, catalogue number PK 4583, 100, and the contact sheet with all 19 shots, its coloured markings showing which went to newspapers and magazines. On the film, the celebrating crowd is bracketed by frames of tanks moving through rubble-strewn streets. The public chose this exhibit in the Library's online vote, and it sits inside the compact Bridge of Humanity show.
It is a single exhibit, so treat it as part of a State Hall visit: the €12 ticket, free for under-19s, open until 21:00 on Thursdays. The Library's blog post and video about it are in German only.
Look for
The spotted print
Look for demonstrators walking shoulder to shoulder, hands raised and mouths open in a shared shout, on the one frame of the series marred by faulty film.
The coloured markings
On the contact sheet, coloured marks show which of the 19 frames were picked for publication, with the chosen one marked at the bottom right.
Flags through Budapest
The neighbouring frames show peaceful demonstrators marching through the city carrying Hungarian flags.
The tanks either side
On the same film, the celebration is framed by shots of tanks driving through Budapest's rubble-covered streets.
Good for
- An Hour Or Less
- Evening Visits
- Nerding Out
Skip if
You want a full exhibition: this is one print and its contact sheet inside a small focus show.
With kids
Under-19s enter free. Frames on the contact sheet show tanks in wrecked Budapest streets, within a show about the 1956 uprising and its refugees.
Also at State Hall of the Austrian National Library (Prunksaal)
On now nearby
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Image credits
8
- The Special Exhibit: Erich Lessing: A Moment of HopeCourtesy of State Hall of the Austrian National Library (Prunksaal)
- Otto Meets AlbertinaCourtesy of Albertina
- Picasso - Bacon: What It Feels Like to Be Human© Succession Picasso / Bildrecht, Vienna 2026, © Foto: bpk/Nationalgalerie, SMB, Museum Berggruen/ Jens Ziehe
- Her Story: Women Artists of the AlbertinaCourtesy of Albertina
- State Hall of the Austrian National Library (Prunksaal)Mirej / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 AT
- Theatermuseum (Palais Lobkowitz)Gryffindor / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.5
- AlbertinaC.Stadler/Bwag, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Jewish Museum Vienna (Jüdisches Museum Wien)Sonja Bachmayer / Jewish Museum Vienna, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0