In terms of the number of its exponents and by its very nature, the medieval collection of the Alte Galerie is the most important in Austria. It comprises about 205 outstanding panel paintings, shrine altars, frescoes, lenten veils, wooden and stone sculptures as well as 122 fascinating stained glass.

The works of this collection were created mainly in the territories of Austria, Styria and neighbouring countries (today’s Slovenia and South Tyrol, for example). Since the 19th century the number of objects has grown steadily, with the bequests of Joseph August Stark, Count Ignaz Attems and Baron Sessler-Herzinger well worth mentioning alongside donations from various parishes and deans. Valuable holdings from Admont and St. Lambrecht abbeys were added during the years of the Great Depression in the 1920s and 1930s.

Special mention should be made of the AdmontMadonna, a major sculpture of the high Gothic period, second to none in Europe. In terms of their European standing, the Votive panel or the Bearing of the Cross from St.Lambrecht also represent the impact of the “International Gothic” style in Styria. Among the major works of the late Gothic period one should also mention the panels by Michael Pacher as well as those emanating from the circle of Friedrich Pacher and Marx Reichlich. The growing influence of the Renaissance on the development of local art is demonstrated by the monumental LargeMiracle Altar of Mariazell and the panel of St. Martin from Bruck an der Mur, after which the unknown master is named.

Furthermore, there is a considerable collection of high and late Gothic stained glass works from local churches (in the villages of Pichl bei Tragöß, Straßengel and Gratwein). Regionally significant testimonies of Gothic murals round off the picture of a complex medieval cultural heritage.