Ruqayyah Snyder
Ludwig van Beethoven, the German composer, spent most of his adult life in Vienna, Austria. He moved to the Austrian capital in 1792 and lived there until his death in 1827. During his 35 years in the city, Beethoven lived in numerous houses and apartments, and performed in various establishments. Today, Vienna celebrates his life with statues, monuments, and museums.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Country | Austria |
| City | Vienna |
| Number of Addresses | 67 |
| First Address | Grinzinger Strasse 64 |
| Year of First Address | 1808 |
| Last Address | Laimgrubengasse 22 |
| Year of Last Address | 1822-1823 |
| Number of Museums | 6 |
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What You'll Learn
Beethoven's birthplace in Bonn, Germany
Bonn, Germany, is the birthplace of the famous composer Ludwig van Beethoven. The house where Beethoven was born, Beethoven-Haus, is located in the centre of the city, not far from the river Rhine. It is one of the few remaining houses in Bonn built in the 18th century, with its baroque stone facade erected over cellars dating back to the 12th or 13th century. Beethoven was born in this house on 17 December 1770. His parents, Johann van Beethoven, an electoral court singer, and his wife, Maria Magdalena, moved into the garden wing in November 1767.
Beethoven-Haus has been a museum since 1893 and is one of the most frequented music museums worldwide. It is also one of the 100 most popular sights in Germany. The museum provides a modern and inspiring approach to experiencing Beethoven's life and art, with new rooms such as a vault with manuscripts, a music room for concerts on historic keyboards, and a special area for temporary exhibitions. Visitors can view original rooms, original manuscripts, letters and first editions of Beethoven's works, musical instruments used by Beethoven, and portraits and personal objects of the composer.
Beethoven-Haus is situated in a neighbourhood that was once preferred by court employees, in the heart of the city between the castle, the town hall, the market square, and the banks of the Rhine River. An additional smaller, timbered house was built on the property in the first half of the 19th century. In 1836, the entrance door was widened and replaced with a gate, and in 1840, Beethoven's friend Franz Gerhard Wegeler identified the back part of the house as Beethoven's birthplace. A restaurant called Beethoven's Geburtshaus (Beethoven's Birthplace) opened on the ground floor in 1873.
Beethoven-Haus was damaged by a firebomb during World War II, but the collection was saved by senior building officer Theodor Wildemann, who brought it to an underground shelter near Siegen. The damages were repaired in the early 1950s, and the building underwent further renovations in the 1960s and 1990s. For the fourth renovation from 1994 to 1996, the Beethoven-Haus was awarded the Europa Nostra award for cultural heritage in 1998.
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Beethoven-Grillparzer Haus, Vienna
In the summer of 1808, Ludwig van Beethoven moved into the Beethoven-Grillparzer Haus in Vienna, Austria. The house, located at Grinzinger Strasse 64, was already home to the 17-year-old Austrian writer and poet Franz Grillparzer and his mother. During his stay, Beethoven continued to compose his 6th Symphony, adding the descriptive note "Szene am Bach" ("scene by the brook") to the symphony's second movement. He drew inspiration from the pastoral country scenes on his walks along the Schreiberbach ("writers brook"), now a paved footpath called the Beethovengang.
Beethoven's time at the Beethoven-Grillparzer Haus was marked by an incident involving Grillparzer's mother. As Grillparzer recounts in the book "Memories of Beethoven", his mother enjoyed listening to Beethoven play the piano and would often open the door to the kitchen, which was closer to the composer's lodgings, to hear the music better. On one occasion, Beethoven abruptly stopped playing upon noticing her in the corridor, and he never played the piano in the house again. Despite this incident, Beethoven and Grillparzer remained friends, with Grillparzer even writing the eulogy for Beethoven's funeral.
The Beethoven-Grillparzer Haus is a late 18th-century, single-storey building with a three-window-wide facade. It is one of many Beethoven residences in and around Heiligenstadt, a former country village outside Vienna that was a favourite haunt of the composer. A plaque on the private house commemorates the residence of both Beethoven and Grillparzer in 1808.
Today, the house is private property and not open to the public. However, visitors can see Grillparzer's office and living room in the Literature Museum and Wien Museum, respectively. Additionally, the nearby Beethoven Museum in Heiligenstadt offers insights into the composer's life and work during his time in the area.
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Beethoven's apartments in Vienna's 6th district
Beethoven spent around 35 years in Vienna, from 1792 until his death in 1827. During this time, he lived in numerous Viennese houses and apartments, and many sites in and around Vienna are associated with him.
One of the places Beethoven lived in Vienna's 6th district was in an apartment in 1822/1823, where he worked on his ninth symphony and Missa solemnis. A plaque above the door of this private building commemorates the fact. The building once housed the Ludwig Van restaurant on the ground floor, and a plaque and relief on the wall indicate that Beethoven finished his Ninth Symphony there in the winter of 1823/1824. This was also the last residence of Joseph Haydn in Vienna. Beethoven died in his apartment in this building on March 26, 1827. The original house has been replaced by a newer one from the early 1900s, but it features reliefs and plaques that pay tribute to the location's historical importance.
Beethoven also lived in the Pasqualati House in Vienna for a little over 10 years, though he lived elsewhere for parts of that time. The house was built by Empress Maria Theresa for her personal physician, Joseph Benedikt Pasqualati. His son, Baron Pasqualati, inherited the house and was a patron of Beethoven, who lived in an apartment on the top floor. Beethoven worked on his Fifth and Sixth Symphonies and his opera Fidelio while living there.
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Beethoven's residences in Baden, near Vienna
Beethoven spent most of his adult life in Vienna, Austria, but he also spent time in Baden, a town that is now nearby. In Beethoven's day, Baden was a self-contained town, an hour-long journey by carriage or coach from Vienna. Today, it is easily reached by bus or tram.
Baden is surrounded by nature, lying at the foot of Mount Calvary (Calvarienberg in German), with the highest point of 861 meters at Iron Gate. Beethoven loved nature, and his walks in the countryside surrounding Vienna were woven into his daily routine. Baden, therefore, was a place of inspiration for Beethoven, and he worked on several pieces during his stays there.
Baden was the place of many happy and sad events in Beethoven's life. It was where Ries sold a march as a new Beethoven piece, and where he was mistaken for a tramp and thrown into jail. It was also the place where Beethoven's nephew, Karl, attempted suicide by climbing the mountains overlooking Helenenthal, a wooded valley with ancient ruins, and shooting himself.
Beethoven was fond of Baden, and he was quick to help when a fire destroyed a significant part of the city in 1812, raising 1,000 florins for the relief fund through a benefit concert.
Today, Beethoven's residences in Baden are commemorated with plaques and memorial rooms that are open to the public.
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Beethoven's stays in Heiligenstadt and other Austrian towns
Beethoven spent most of his adult life in Vienna, Austria, where he lived in numerous houses and apartments. He spent around 35 years in the city, from 1792 until his death in 1827.
Beethoven's first major orchestral work, the First Symphony, premiered in 1800. However, by this time, he had already started to notice a deterioration in his hearing, which began in 1796 when he was 25 years old. As his condition worsened, he became increasingly alarmed, revealing his anxieties in letters to close friends. In one letter to physician Franz Wegler in November 1801, he despaired of being 'forced to appear a misanthrope' due to the torment caused by his deafness.
In April 1802, on the advice of his doctor, Beethoven moved to the small Austrian town of Heiligenstadt, just outside Vienna. Here, he wrote the document now known as the Heiligenstadt Testament—a letter to his brothers, Carl and Johann, that records his thoughts of suicide due to his growing deafness and his resolution to continue living for and through his art. In the letter, Beethoven describes his isolation and his desire for company and meaningful conversations, which he is unable to have:
> 'Oh I cannot do it, therefore forgive me when you see me draw back when I would have gladly mingled with you. My misfortune is doubly painful to me because I am bound to be misunderstood; for me there can be no relaxation with my fellow-men, no refined conversations, no mutual exchange of ideas. [...] I must live almost alone like an exile.'
Beethoven never sent the letter, instead keeping it among his personal belongings, where it was discovered after his death.
After his stay in Heiligenstadt, Beethoven returned to Vienna, where he continued to compose music and perform. He lived in various locations across the city, including in the 6th district in 1822/1823, where he worked on his ninth symphony and Missa solemnis. He also spent the summers of 1818 and 1819 in Mdling, where he worked on several compositions, including the Missa Solemnis and the ninth symphony.
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Frequently asked questions
Beethoven lived in several places in Austria, including Vienna, Heiligenstadt, and Baden.
Beethoven had 67 addresses in Vienna, including Hauptstrasse 79 in Mdling, Grinzinger Strasse 64, Laimgrubengasse 22, and Rathausgasse 10.
Yes, you can visit several of Beethoven's former residences in Vienna, including the Beethoven-Grillparzer Haus, the Beethoven Museum, and the Beethoven Memorial Rooms at Hauptstrasse 79 in Mdling.
