In 1773, after the house in which Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart had been born became too small, the entire Mozart family moved across the river to the Tanzmeisterhaus on the square then known as Hannibalplatz. The building now accommodates a museum showing the various stations of the lives of the Mozart family. The building is now commonly known as Mozarts Wohnhaus and no-one knows where Hannibalplatz is as its latter-day name is Markartplatz. The existence of the building was first documented in 1617.
On the 16th October 1944 two thirds of the house were destroyed in an air raid. The owner at the time sold the bombed section of the building to Assicurazioni Generali, who then erected an office building subsequently purchased by the International Mozarteum Foundation in 1989. The International Mozarteum Foundation had already acquired the surviving section of the Tanzmeistersaal hall for museum purposes in 1955. On the 2nd May 1994 the office building was demolished and on the 4th May reconstruction of the original house was commenced according to old structural plans. In 1996 Mozart’s Wohnhaus was reopened.
References:The Château de Foix dominates the town of Foix. An important tourist site, it is known as a centre of the Cathars. Built on an older 7th-century fortification, the castle is known from 987. In 1002, it was mentioned in the will of Roger I, Count of Carcassonne, who bequeathed the fortress to his youngest child, Bernard. In effect, the family ruling over the region were installed here which allowed them to control access to the upper Ariège valley and to keep surveillance from this strategic point over the lower land, protected behind impregnable walls.
In 1034, the castle became capital of the County of Foix and played a decisive role in medieval military history. During the two following centuries, the castle was home to Counts with shining personalities who became the soul of the Occitan resistance during the crusade against the Albigensians.