On 15 June 2026, the General Assembly of the E-RIHS ERIC, the European Consortium of Research Infrastructure for Heritage Science, approved Austria’s accession. The Republic of Austria is now part of the European consortium of infrastructures for heritage science. This represents a decisive step towards the further development and networking of the Austrian infrastructure used for the research, documentation, conservation and sustainable preservation of cultural heritage.
The Austrian national node, E-RIHS.at, has been established through an inter-institutional alliance of ten partner institutions. The Austrian Archaeological Institute of the Austrian Academy of Sciences acts as the host institution. Other partners include the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, the Federal Monuments Office, the KHM Museumsverband, the University of Applied Arts Vienna, the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), the University of Innsbruck, the University of Vienna, the University for Continuing Education Krems and the Technical University Vienna (TU Wien).
Klaudia Hradil, Head of the X-ray Center at the TU Wien, acts as the national coordinator of E-RIHS.at, and is responsible for the scientific coordination of the national node. The role of consortium spokesperson, currently held by M. Bianca D’Anna with the Austrian Archaeological Institute, is permanently based at the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Austria is represented at the General Assembly of the E-RIHS ERIC by Bettina Glaser from the Federal Ministry for Women, Science and Research.
The key objectives of E-RIHS ERIC are to promote the interdisciplinary research approach of Heritage Science, to deliver training programmes within the framework of the HS Academy, and to carry out dissemination and science communication work. Austria’s participation in E-RIHS ERIC strengthens the national network of researchers and partner institutions and provides access to leading European research facilities, scientific equipment, innovative methods and valuable datasets.
PRESS RELEASE OF THE FEDERAL MINISTRY of women, science and research