Exhibitions

This spring marks the tenth anniversary of the transfer of the valuable Beethoven collection from the Wegeler family in Koblenz to the Beethoven-Haus on permanent loan. The special exhibition is intended to provide a comprehensive picture of the man to whom the collection essentially goes back. Franz Gerhard Wegeler cultivated a close friendship with Beethoven from a young age, which is documented in numerous letters and gifts such as manuscripts of music and portraits, which are shown in the exhibition. This lifelong closeness also authorised Wegeler to write the first authentic biography of Beethoven together with Ferdinand Ries. Wegeler was married to Eleonore von Breuning, whose family circle also played an important role for the young Beethoven. Both Wegeler and Beethoven were sent to Vienna by Elector Max Franz for further education. Wegeler furthered his medical studies at the Josephine Military Academy. Back in Bonn, he became Professor of Obstetrics and later Rector of Bonn University. After the university was abolished, he worked as a medical officer in French and later Prussian service to improve healthcare in the Rhineland. From his diverse areas of work, the exhibition highlights the establishment of qualified midwifery training, the nationwide introduction of smallpox vaccination and the establishment of a sanatorium for the mentally ill, all of which are documented by contemporary sources. Moulages (three-dimensional, lifelike moulds of diseased body parts) illustrate the clinical pictures.

Wegeler's achievements were already honoured in detail in 1839 on the occasion of his 50th doctoral anniversary. The special exhibition picks up on this and portrays two important Bonn residents as independent personalities as well as long-standing friends.

Brief Guide

Petit Guide