Mozart's Birthplace

Leopold Mozart rented rooms on the third floor of Hagenauer Haus at Getreidegasse 9, and his son Wolfgang was born there on 27 January 1756; the family lived in the flat until 1773. It opened as a museum in 1880 and is now the most visited site in Salzburg. The rooms hold what survives of the family's possessions: Mozart's childhood violin and his concert violin, a clavichord, a fortepiano, letters, and the family portrait by Johann Nepomuk della Croce with Mozart's mother in the picture after her death. Further floors cover his operas with stage models and Salzburg in his time. The house is small and the queue in season is the main obstacle; the Mozart Residence across the river, where the family moved in 1773, is quieter and larger.

History

The house was built in the 12th century on land that had been part of the garden of the Benedictine monks of St. Peter's; the merchant Otto Keutzel owned it in 1408, the court apothecary Chunrad Fröschmoser bought it in 1585, and his serpent of Asclepius in a lion's mouth is still on the doorway. The Hagenauer family took it over in 1703, and after marrying Anna Maria Pertl on 21 November 1747 Leopold Mozart rented the third-floor flat, where their seven children were born, only Maria Anna and Wolfgang Amadeus surviving; the family moved to the larger Tanzmeisterhaus in 1773, and the house has held a museum since 1880 (Wikipedia, Mozart's birthplace).

What's there

• The birth room - the third-floor flat the family rented until 1773.
• His childhood violin - along with a clavichord and fortepiano they used.
• The family portrait - della Croce's picture with the dead mother included.
• Opera floors - stage models and material on the works, above the flat.

When to go

All year; early morning or late afternoon to miss the queue. An hour or two.

What to expect

The queue on Getreidegasse is long from mid-morning through the season. The rooms are small and crowded. Photography inside is not allowed. The Residence across the river is the calmer visit.

Nearby

The Salzburg old town, cathedral and fortress are all within a few minutes.

Key facts