Beethoven Pasqualatihaus

About the museum

The house on the Mölker Bastei stands on remains of the 16th-century Viennese city fortifications. Between 1791 and 1798 Johann Baptist Freiherr von Pasqualati had two smaller bastion houses combined into a four-storey apartment building. The ensemble with cobblestones and Baroque and Biedermeier houses of varying heights has hardly changed since the early 19th century.

In autumn 1804 Ludwig van Beethoven moved into an apartment on the fourth floor. The music-loving landlord valued the composer, who returned here repeatedly in the following years – in total, with interruptions, about eight years, longer than at any other of his numerous Viennese addresses. During this time he worked on the opera "Fidelio", the 5th and 6th symphonies and the piano piece "Für Elise".

The City of Vienna established memorial rooms in 1941, which are looked after by today's Wien Museum (then the Historisches Museum der Stadt Wien); they were opened on 29 November 1941 and again in 1951 after the Second World War. During a renovation in 1962 a further room was added. The original apartment is rented out; the exhibition is in the opposite rooms on the same floor and tells the composer's life concisely in three rooms.

Highlights

• Beethoven's longest Viennese residence (about eight years)
• Place where "Fidelio" and "Für Elise" were composed
• Compact biographical exhibition in three rooms on the 4th floor
• Historic ensemble of houses on a remnant of the city fortifications

Founded

1941

Operated by

Museen der Stadt Wien – Wien Museum

Admission & discounts

Free admission: Free admission on the first Sunday of every month.

Free admission with Wien Museum annual card, ICOM card and Kulturpass ("Hunger auf Kunst und Kultur"). Cash only at the ticket desk.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible: not available
• Elevator: not available
• Accessible restroom: not available
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

Not accessible: the exhibition is on the 4th floor and can only be reached by stairs; there is no lift. Entrance door over 90 cm wide, seating in the exhibition. Nearest disabled parking spaces: Universitätsring 1 and Teinfaltstraße 1.

Kids & families

• Stroller-friendly: not available

No lift and no storage space for strollers; taking them into the exhibition is possible depending on space, after consultation at the ticket desk.

Getting there & parking

No bicycle parking nearby.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop
• Coat check
• Wi-Fi: not available

No toilets on site. Small selection of Vienna products at the ticket desk; coat hooks in the entrance area (no liability). Eating and drinking not allowed in the exhibition.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit