Close
 
The most famous Beethoven portrait shows the composer with a red scarf, quill and music book. It hangs in the museum's permanent exhibition. A window of the room in which it is located is reflected in the portrait.
The most famous Beethoven portrait shows the composer with a red scarf, quill and music book. It hangs in the museum's permanent exhibition. A window of the room in which it is located is reflected in the portrait.

Beethoven

In the place where Ludwig van Beethoven was born, he is still at his most alive. Discover new or little known facts about the famous composer.

For children

"Hello Beethoven"

The interactive encounter with Beethoven was created for children aged 10 to 13. The website exists in five languages: German, English, French, Spanish and Chinese. Beethoven's life can be focused through various topics. Music and spoken original quotes frame Beethoven's thrillingly narrated life history. Original images of letters, sheet music and other documents are waiting to be discovered. Animated illustrations invite the user to interact, to answer multiple choice questions or to play games of didactic value.  

Start

Pastime for children

The Beethoven drawn for 'Hello Beethoven' with a red scarf spreads his arms as a welcoming gesture.
The Beethoven drawn for 'Hello Beethoven' with a red scarf spreads his arms as a welcoming gesture.

Biography

Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn in 1770. He lived in his hometown till 1792. The rest of his life he spent in Vienna, where he died in 1827. 

Chronology Beethoven in Bonn

Chronology Beethoven in Vienna

Beethovens Life in 58 pictures

30 Stories about Beethoven (Google Arts & Culture)

Points of light and shadow on the bronze bust, which shows Beethoven's face true to life, are continued on the adjacent fireplace in the museum.
Points of light and shadow on the bronze bust, which shows Beethoven's face true to life, are continued on the adjacent fireplace in the museum.

Beethoven's ear

A musical narrative about Beethoven's deafness

Beethoven was not even 30 years old when he realised that his hearing ability started to decrease. This process would continue until he became completely deaf. A tragedy for a composer. We have reconstructed this process electronically. By listening to Beethoven's music the way the composer heard it, you can experience Beethoven's dwindling hearing ability. Statements from Beethoven and some of his contemporaries as well as short medical explanations complement this vivid reconstruction and give an example of how Beethoven must have lived through this tragic time and how other people might have perceived him. 

Start

Beethoven holds his hand to his ear to hear better, as a modern white plaster bust shows him.
Beethoven holds his hand to his ear to hear better, as a modern white plaster bust shows him.

Quotes

Beethoven sayings

"I would rather write 10000 notes than a single letter of the alphabet", so Ludwig van Beethoven admitted to his Bonn friend and musical editor Nikolaus Simrock (in a letter from November 28, 1820), still he was forced to make written utterances all the time. Beethoven's letters alone contain far more than 100,000 letters of the alphabet written with his quill. Some statements have become quite famous and even popular sayings.

Friendship
Money
Composing
Composers
Art and music
Worldly wisdom
Love
Nature
Philosophy and religion
Fate
Self-perception
Contemporaries

View from the window of the chamber music hall into the romantic garden of the Beethoven-Haus. The large bronze bust of the composer can be seen between the roses, looking pensive and introspective.
View from the window of the chamber music hall into the romantic garden of the Beethoven-Haus. The large bronze bust of the composer can be seen between the roses, looking pensive and introspective.

Send greetings with Beethoven

greeting cards are great

Send a personal greeting per e-mail. In four easy steps you can design an electronic greeting card with a motive, music, a Beethoven quotation and your own personal message. 

Send greeting card

‘An die ferne Geliebte’ - title page of the original edition of Beethoven's Liederkreis
‘An die ferne Geliebte’ - title page of the original edition of Beethoven's Liederkreis

Appassionato

"Appassionato" is the magazine of the Beethoven-Haus. Founded in 1998, it is published twice a year (May and November) and reports on what is going on at the Beethoven-Haus. The title "Appassionato" ("with passion") not only alludes to Beethoven's famous piano sonata in F major, op. 57, a.k.a. "Appassionata", but also indicates what readers and editors have in common: They share a passionate interest in Ludwig van Beethoven's life, oeuvre and impact.

Appassionato 54 (folio magazine) (PDF)

Appassionato archive

The covers of the Appassionato booklets are designed to match the theme of the booklet. The silhouette on the 'Family ties' booklet shows the von Breuning family, who were like a second family to Beethoven.
The covers of the Appassionato booklets are designed to match the theme of the booklet. The silhouette on the 'Family ties' booklet shows the von Breuning family, who were like a second family to Beethoven.
News Events Shop Search