Recent bequests mean that the Albertina Collection in Vienna now boasts artistic masterpieces from Dürer to late Picasso. Eileen Battersbytraces how one man's dream led to the birth of a great museum

Clouds race by; his head held high against the sky overlooking Vienna's famous opera house, a great general sits on his horse, outside his house, surveying his city, his empire. The statue of the Archduke Albrecht, victor in 1866 against the Prussians at Custozza, was sanctioned by his emperor and it is an impressive reminder of how vast the Austro-Hungarian empire once was. On approaching the Albertina, one of Europe's most important museums, it is easy for a moment to put art aside and instead consider history. Yet the Albertina is both art and history. It is the story of one uniquely privileged man's passion for art and the often bizarre good luck he enjoyed in his pursuit of it.

Today the gallery, once the state apartments and the largest residential palace in Vienna, covers 20,000 square metres and houses one of the finest graphic art collections in the world, extending to one and half million drawings, watercolours and prints.

In 1776, Duke Albert von Sachsen- Teschen, one of the younger sons of Elector Friedrich August of Saxony, the king of Poland, began to fulfil his dream, that of establishing a major art collection spanning the medieval, classical and romantic periods, reflecting the Renaissance as well as the Enlightenment, and worthy of an empire - and, in time, he did.

His approach was effective. He began by joining the army to prove his worth and then, formed by his experiences in the Seven Years' war, he presented himself as an ally to Empress Maria Theresa. At that time, 1760, he was 22 and an officer to the imperial court. His finest career break could be said to be winning the hand of Maria Theresa's favourite daughter, Marie Christine, elder sister of the unfortunate Marie Antoinette. Albert's wife's dowry would prove vital for collecting drawings and other graphic material.

Later, he was also lucky in meeting a generous connoisseur, Conte Durazzo of Genoa, who more than kick-started Albert's collection by giving him about 1,000 pieces. This gift was made on July 4th 1776, and it marked the birth of what was to become the Albertina Collection, although it would not become known as such until 1873 when the Collectio Albertina was exhibited during the Vienna World Exposition.

In 1781, five years after receiving Durazzo's bequest, Duke Albert was appointed the high governor of the Austrian Netherlands, which gave him even better access to European art centres. He began buying.

This convenient situation came to an end when defeat at the Battle of Jemappes in 1792 forced Albert, then supreme commander of the imperial army, to leave Brussels for Vienna, losing many valuable works during his flight. Further defeats resulted in him presenting his resignation to Emperor Franz II.

Albert and his wife then retired to the baroque palace the emperor had given them - the present-day Albertina - adjoining the Hofburg Palace. Three years later, in 1798, his wife died, aged 56, but Albert lived on, collecting until his death in 1822 at the age of 84.

As early as 1796 Albert had already secured a major acquisition of 800 drawings, including important works by Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Poussin and Lorrain. Out of sympathy for the duke's various military defeats, the emperor also released some priceless drawings from the imperial court library. This portfolio contained works that were to become the enduring heart of the collection: drawings by the great German master, Albrecht Dürer. Previously held in Madrid, having been bequested to a cardinal, they had been absorbed into the collection of the future Emperor Rudolf II, who had had them moved on to Prague.

BY THE 17TH century, they were part of the imperial treasury, where, miraculously, they survived the Turkish siege of 1693. Near the end of the 18th century, they were transferred to the imperial library, from whence the Dürer bequest, along with works by Rembrandt and Rubens, was given to Duke Albert.

All the while, Europe was changing. The childless Albert's adopted son, Archduke Carl, a national hero following his 1809 victory over Napoleon at Aspern, continued the stewardship of the collection. In 1847, Carl was succeeded by his eldest son, Archduke Albrecht, who continued adding to the collection. It is this man, a successful general as well as the Albertina's custodian, who is commemorated by the equestrian statue erected in 1899 and sanctioned by Franz Josef II.

As an account of tenacious survival, the history of the collection, shaped by Albert's belief in the values of the Enlightenment, makes exciting reading. Aside from the Turkish siege of 1683, there was the revolution of 1848. In 1866, the Prussian army moved on Vienna and there was also a fire in the Hofburg Palace. The biggest threat to the Albertina's treasures came in 1918 with the collapse of the monarchy. Archduke Friedrich, adopted son of Albrecht, was obliged to leave the newly proclaimed Republic of Austria. Before leaving, he removed everything from the palace, ordering all movables to be dispatched to Hungary, where he went in exile. Along with many of the furnishings, he also sold off the archives, which are now scattered about the world. The loss of the archives is comparable to the theft of some of the Dürer drawings during the Congress of Vienna in 1815.

Luckily, Archduke Friedrich's secret deal to sell off the collection to the Boston Museum was foiled. After all these various dangers, the Albertina then benefited from the addition in 1920 of the imperial court library collection of more than 500,000 prints, which also included Prince Eugene of Savoy's collection.

It is difficult today to imagine - such is the magnificence of the recent refurbishment work which has restored the palace to its 19th-century elegance - that the Albertina underwent a remodelling that caused it to close its doors in 1993. Its reopening in 2003 was spectacular, marked as it was by a major Edvard Munch exhibition, Themes and Variations, which was followed by a Dürer show, the most popular yet held at the Albertina.

But there had been dark days. In 1945, while the state opera house burnt, the palace was seriously damaged by bombing. The collection was safe, however, stored in Salzburg's salt mines.