Mozart-Wohnhaus

How the Tanzmeisterhaus got its name

The history of the house at Makartplatz no. 8 can be traced through documents back to 1617. Strictly speaking it consisted of two buildings until 1685. It was first called the Tanzmeisterhaus in 1713. From 1711 Lorenz Spöckner gave dancing lessons there to noble pupils and prepared them for life at court.

The Mozarts move in

In 1773 the Mozart family, who were friends of the Spöckner family, moved into the house after their third journey to Vienna. The birthplace in the Getreidegasse had become too small for social receptions. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart lived on Makartplatz until he moved to Vienna in 1781. His mother died in 1778 and his sister Nannerl married in 1784 and left for St. Gilgen. The father remained alone in the apartment, from 1785 together with his grandson Leopold Alois Pantaleon, who had been entrusted to his care.

Destruction in the Second World War and reconstruction

After the death of Leopold Mozart on 28 May 1787 the house had several owners. On 16 October 1944 an aerial bomb destroyed two thirds of the building. The surviving part passed to the Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum in 1955. An office building was erected on the bombed part, which the foundation also bought in 1989. After its demolition, the Mozart-Wohnhaus was faithfully reconstructed according to old plans.

The museum

On 26 January 1996 the Mozart-Wohnhaus opened again. In the museum, alongside Mozart's fortepiano, there are many original documents and portraits. The exhibition covers the history of the house, Mozart's Salzburg years and the life of the Mozart family. There are also a multivision show, changing special exhibitions, concerts and lectures. Allow about an hour and a half for a visit.

The Zauberflötenhäuschen

The story behind the Zauberflötenhäuschen goes back to 1791, when Mozart is said to have composed Die Zauberflöte in the small wooden hut. At the time it stood in the garden of the Freihaustheater in Vienna, where the opera had its premiere in September 1791. In 1873 the hut came to Salzburg on the initiative of the Stiftung Mozarteum. It stands in the courtyard of the Mozart-Wohnhaus and is a fixed part of the museum visit. During the renovation in the summer of 2022 it was given back the green colour it had in Mozart's time.