Mozart's Birthplace, Salzburg, Austria

Salzburg’s Wunderkind – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – was born in what is known as the Hagenauer House at no. 9 Getreidegasse on the 27th January 1756. He lived there with his sister Nannerl and his parents until 1773. Mozart’s Geburtshaus now houses a museum open all year round.

Mozart’s Geburtshaus guides guests through the original rooms in which the Mozart family lived and presents a range of artefacts, including historical instruments, documents, keepsakes and mementos, and the majority of the portraits painted during his lifetime. One such example is the unfinished oil portrait painted by Mozart’s brother-in-law Joseph Lange in 1789 – ‘Wolfgang Amade Mozart at the piano’. Among the most famous exhibits are Mozart’s childhood violin, his clavichord, portraits and letters belonging to the Mozart family.

References:

Salzburg Tourism

User Reviews

Tasneem Badwahwala (3 months ago)
Salzburg old town is beautiful with right mix of old and new.. Roamed around, did window shopping, went to the castle, the love Bridge and more.. The snow made things much more charming

Ugo (3 months ago)
I love history. I love culture, as then no comparisons come into the picture. Every aspect is its own entity to be appreciated in itself. Expectations are limited to the particular item of interest. It's only expected then that I'll fawn over being at this place.

Jesse Wang (4 months ago)
I love classic music, but I really don't know what's the interests of this place. There are two antique piano with much less and smaller keys. But nothing else let me get ideas of what it looks like when the great was born, nor the environment he grew up. That's what I most interested.

Sadine Schmietendorf (4 months ago)
Interesting information on Mozart and his family. Should have his music in all the rooms. And even decorate the living and bedroom to the time period. The kitchen is a good start. The models to Mozart operas are great

Patrick Suhner (5 months ago)
Very interesting museum, but also very crowded (according to the reputation of the composer in his hometown) and small ; therefore you cannot visit very quietly. Architecture of the house is typical and you can feel History through the walls. Family ticket at EUR 23.- for 2 adults and 2 young kids is a good deal (as usual in Germany or Austria).

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Porta Nigra

The Porta Nigra (Latin for black gate) is the largest Roman city gate north of the Alps. It is designated as part of the Roman Monuments, Cathedral of St. Peter and Church of Our Lady in Trier UNESCO World Heritage Site. The name Porta Nigra originated in the Middle Ages due to the darkened colour of its stone; the original Roman name has not been preserved. Locals commonly refer to the Porta Nigra simply as Porta.

The Porta Nigra was built in grey sandstone between 186 and 200 AD. The original gate consisted of two four-storied towers, projecting as near semicircles on the outer side. A narrow courtyard separated the two gate openings on either side. For unknown reasons, however, the construction of the gate remained unfinished. For example, the stones at the northern (outer) side of the gate were never abraded, and the protruding stones would have made it impossible to install movable gates. Nonetheless, the gate was used for several centuries until the end of the Roman era in Trier.

In Roman times, the Porta Nigra was part of a system of four city gates, one of which stood at each side of the roughly rectangular Roman city. The Porta Nigra guarded the northern entry to the Roman city, while the Porta Alba (White Gate) was built in the east, the Porta Media (Middle Gate) in the south, and the Porta Inclyta (Famous Gate) in the west, next to the Roman bridge across the Moselle. The gates stood at the ends of the two main streets of the Roman Trier, one of which led north-south and the other east-west. Of these gates, only the Porta Nigra still exists today.

In the early Middle Ages the Roman city gates were no longer used for their original function and their stones were taken and reused for other buildings. Also iron and lead braces were broken out of the walls of the Porta Nigra for reuse. Traces of this destruction are still clearly visible on the north side of the gate.

After 1028, the Greek monk Simeon lived as a hermit in the ruins of the Porta Nigra. After his death (1035) and sanctification, the Simeonstift monastery was built next to the Porta Nigra to honor him. Saving it from further destruction, the Porta Nigra was transformed into a church: The inner court of the gate was roofed and intermediate ceilings were inserted. The two middle storeys of the former gate were converted into church naves: the upper storey being for the monks and the lower storey for the general public. The ground floor with the large gates was sealed, and a large outside staircase was constructed alongside the south side (the town side) of the gate, up to the lower storey of the church. A small staircase led further up to the upper storey. The church rooms were accessible through former windows of the western tower of the Porta Nigra that were enlarged to become entrance doors (still visible today). The top floor of the western tower was used as church tower, the eastern tower was leveled, and an apse added at its east side. An additional gate - the much smaller Simeon Gate - was built adjacent to the East side of the Porta Nigra and served as a city gate in medieval times.

In 1802 Napoleon Bonaparte dissolved the church in the Porta Nigra and the monastery beside it, along with the vast majority of Trier"s numerous churches and monasteries. On his visit to Trier in 1804, Napoleon ordered that the Porta Nigra be converted back to its Roman form. Only the apse was kept; but the eastern tower was not rebuilt to its original height. Local legend has it that Napoleon originally wanted to completely tear down the church, but locals convinced him that the church had actually been a Gaulish festival hall before being turned into a church. Another version of the story is that they told him about its Roman origins, persuading him to convert the gate back to its original form.

In 1986 the Porta Nigra was designated a World Heritage Site, along with other Roman monuments in Trier and its surroundings. The modern appearance of the Porta Nigra goes back almost unchanged to the reconstruction ordered by Napoleon. At the south side of the Porta Nigra, remains of Roman columns line the last 100 m of the street leading to the gate. Positioned where they had stood in Roman times, they give a slight impression of the aspect of the original Roman street that was lined with colonnades. The Porta Nigra, including the upper floors, is open to visitors.

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