Mozarthaus Vienna:
A House for Mozart & Cash for Vienna

If you walk around in the area behind the Stephansdom Cathedral, you will end up in the Medieval core of Vienna - an area that I regard as one of the nicest in all of Vienna. Here you find ancient churches, narrow alleys and small cafes - alongside with one of the tackiest attractions of the city: The Mozarthaus Vienna. In German, it is also called "Mozarthaus Vienna" and - as it is often the case if something has a partly English name - this tells you a lot about the authenticity of the attraction.

When Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart lived in Vienna, he moved over and over again. In fact, there are few Baroque buildings in Vienna where Mozart hasn′t lived, it seems. According to the management of the Mozarthaus, however, theirs is the only flat of the genius that is still preserved in its original state. Whatever they mean by ‘original state′.

Maybe the thousands of Japs with audio guides that walk through every day. The Mozarthaus Vienna was opened in its current state after a significant refurbishment in 2006, the year of Mozart′s 250th birthday. The first time a museum in this building was opened, however, was in 1941 - half way through WWII, when the Nazis used Mozart′s 150th anniversary of his death as an occasion for some classical music propaganda distraction.

Life of Mozart in the Mozart House

When Mozart stayed in the building, he rented a very large and luxurious apartment that consisted of four rooms, two cabinets and a very large kitchen. Today, the entire building serves as a state-of-the-art museum. The flat itself is run by the Wien Museum as a side-branch and one of the "Musikerwohnungen" or historic composer′s flats.

The museum aims to portray the life of Mozart and the Vienna of the time in which he lived here - the era of late Baroque, a cultural boom period for Austria. The exhibition illuminates the many aspects to Mozart: His freemason activities, his gambling, his drinking and women - but mostly his composing and the musical tradition in Vienna in the 18th century. All this is shown on the third floor of the Mozarthaus.

Structure of the Mozart House & Nearby Attractions

On the second floor, visitors can immerse themselves in an exhibition dedicated to Mozart′s operas. His actual apartment is on the first floor and makes the most authentic part of the museum. The ground floor and basement are home to a café, an event venue and - you might have guessed it - a souvenir shop. There are combined tickets available that allow you to see both the Mozarthaus Vienna and the (in my opinion much cooler) House of Music.

Attractions nearby include the old university district, the Museum of Applied Arts and the Heiligenkreuzerhof. Walking towards the Hofburg, you will get to most of Vienna′s key-attractions within a few minutes.

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Vienna by District

District Overview - 1st (Innere Stadt) - 2nd (Leopoldstadt) - 3rd (Landstraße) - 4th (Wieden) - 5th (Margareten)- 6th (Mariahilf) - 7th (Neubau) - 8th (Josefstadt) - 9th (Alsergrund) - 10th (Favoriten) - 11th (Simmering) - 12th (Meidling) - 13th (Hietzing) - 14th (Penzing) - 15th (Fünfhaus) - 16th (Ottakring) - 17th (Hernals) - 18th (Währing) - 19th (Döbling) - 20th (Brigittenau) - 21st (Floridsdorf) - 22nd (Donaustadt) - 23rd (Liesing) -  Ringstraße - Surroundings

Further Reading

Official Website of the Mozart Haus Vienna

Musikerwohnungen: Flats of decomposing composers

Official website of the Vienna Tourist Information