Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

1 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, one of the most famous composers ever to have lived, was born in this house at Getreidegasse 9 in Salzburg. Today, the house is a museum where you can learn a lot about Mozart’s life and music.

2 - Little Wolfgang Amadeus was born here on 27 January 1756 and lived there until he was six years old. He was the seventh and youngest child of the musician Leopold Mozart and his wife Anna Maria. By the age of three, he had learned to play the piano, and he wrote his first piece of music when he was five. His sister Anna, known as “Nannerl”, and little “Wolferl” soon became known as child prodigies.

3 - In January 1762, their father took the two of them on a trip to Munich for the first time. It lasted three weeks. Later trips took them to France, England, Holland and Italy. The children performed before kings, princes and other important figures. It has been calculated that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart spent 3,720 days—almost a third of his life—travelling.

4 - Back then, people traveled by stagecoach. They were usually open and pulled by horses. They had hard benches and no suspension, so passengers were jolted around on bumpy roads. It could also be very cold in winter. Roads in Europe were often uneven and poorly maintained at the time. People covered no more than about 40 kilometers in a day. A journey from Salzburg to Munich took three days; today, it takes a car only about 90 minutes.

5 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart lived to be only 35. Yet during his short life he composed more than 600 pieces of music, including concertos for piano and violin and works for small and large orchestras. His operas are particularly famous, especially “The Magic Flute” and “The Marriage of Figaro.” Mozart died on 5 December 1791.

The former kitchen in Mozart's birthplace in Salzburg

Image: public domain

W. A. Mozart at the age of 7 (painting by Pietro Antonio Lorenzon)

Image: public domain

Travel in Mozart’s time (painting by Anton Braith)

Image: public domain

W. A. Mozart at about 25 years of age (painting by Barbara Kraft)

Image: public domain