Mendelssohn House Leipzig
Tel. : +49 (0) 341 9628820
Fax : +49 (0) 341 96288220
General
In the heart of the City of Leipzig, just around the corner of the Gewandhaus, at Goldschmidtstraße 12 (formerly Königstraße), you can find the house in which Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy lived and died. The house, built in the late classicist era, has been carefully restored. It was the composer's last private address, and the only one of his residences that can still be visited. Today, it houses a museum in honour of Mendelssohn, who was active here not only as a composer and music director, but also as a cultural politician and piano virtuoso. Here, you can experience the authentic atmosphere of the apartment on the second floor where the Mendelssohn family lived from 1845 and which is furnished in the style of late Biedermeier. Visitors can find information about the composer's life and work, illustrated by letters and music sheets as well as water colours, written and painted by the composer himself and set among authentic furniture in his study and music salon. The latter is still used, just like in Mendelssohn's days, as a venue for morning concerts.
Accessibility
Additional access information for wheelchair users and persons with reduced mobility:
- Lift: Door 90 cm, circulation area: free turning space of 102x140 cm
- WC for wheelchair users: Door 94 cm, 140x230 cm in front of and 50 cm beside WC
Reformation
Under the influence of his wife, Elector Augustus changed from being a supporter of Melanchthon into an orthodox Lutheran. From 1574 onwards, he took severe action against the Calvinists. Only with the Royal Saxon mandate of 1811 were Calvinists no longer persecuted but treated like Lutherans and Catholics. Very important for Leipzig’s history was Felix Mendelssohn. The grandson of the great Jewish philosopher Moses Mendelssohn was baptized as a Reformed Christian and, was given his second, “Christian” surname “Bartholdy”. The musical prodigy came to Leipzig in 1835. There he shaped the conductor of the present day, helped the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra to world fame and founded the first German Conservatory. The rediscoverer of Bach wrote important works of sacred music such as the oratorio “St Paul” and “Elijah”. The house in which Mendelssohn lived and died is still standing and is now the only authentic memorial to the musician and part of the musical trail “Leipziger Notenspur”. The monument that was removed and melted down by the Nazis has been faithfully restored and now stands outside St Thomas Church, where a window also commemorates him.
