The third-floor apartment at Getreidegasse 9 is the room where Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born on 27 January 1756. It is exactly that: a real apartment in a real building, on Salzburg's main shopping street, where a family of musicians lived for over two decades.
The Story
The building has a longer history than Mozart. In 1585 the court apothecary Chunrad Fröschmoser carved a Rod of Asclepius, the coiled serpent of healing, above the entrance door. It is still there. The Hagenauer family acquired the building in the early 18th century, and Lorenz Hagenauer was already the landlord when Leopold Mozart and Anna Maria moved into the third-floor apartment as newlyweds in November 1747. The rent was 20 gulden a year. The friendship between Leopold Mozart and Hagenauer was worth far more: when the family needed to finance their touring years across Europe, Hagenauer provided letters of credit that kept them solvent in Augsburg, Paris, and London.
Seven children were born in those five rooms. Five died in infancy. Nannerl Mozart (Nannerl) arrived in 1751; Wolfgang in 1756. Both were gifted in ways that seemed to alarm even their proud father. By the time Wolfgang was six, Leopold Mozart had him performing for the Prince-Archbishop. The family left for larger quarters on Makartplatz in 1773. The building became a museum in 1880.
A note on orientation: two Mozart museums exist in Salzburg. This is the Birthplace. The Mozarts Residence, ten minutes' walk away on Makartplatz, shows the family's later years. They are run by the same foundation and a combined ticket covers both. If you visit only one, this is the one: the rooms here have the weight of actual origin.
Visiting
- Hours: Daily 9am-5:30pm. Dec 24: 9am-1pm. Jan 1: noon-5:30pm.
- Cost: EUR 18.00 adults; combined ticket with Mozarts Residence EUR 25.00. Youth and children discounted.
- Duration: 45-60 minutes.
- Getting there: Getreidegasse 9, in the heart of the Altstadt. The yellow facade and wrought-iron guild signs are impossible to miss.
- Tips: Come early or late to avoid peak crowds. Last admission 30 minutes before closing. The Salzburg Card includes entry.