Mozart: Salzburg, Vienna, Prague

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born here on Getreidegasse on 27 January 1756, the day before his baptism. The family lived in the house until 1773, and all seven of their children were born under this roof; only two survived, Maria Anna and Wolfgang. A museum since 1880, the birthplace introduces visitors to the composer's early life, and its collection includes the clavichord on which he composed The Magic Flute.

訪問のヒント: Open as a museum.

Mozart was baptized in Salzburg Cathedral on 28 January 1756, the day after his birth. The cathedral still contains the baptismal font used that day, so the font is one of the few objects you can see that was there at the very start of his life.

訪問のヒント: The cathedral is an active church on the Domplatz; ask staff about the font.

Mozart rented rooms at Domgasse 5 in Vienna from 1784. Here he composed The Marriage of Figaro and three of the six Haydn Quartets. Of all the flats he lived in in Vienna, this is the only one that has survived to this day. The entire building, including an expanded basement, is now a centre dedicated to the composer's life and work.

訪問のヒント: Open as the Mozarthaus museum at Domgasse 5, just behind St. Stephen's Cathedral.

On 29 October 1787 Mozart conducted the world premiere of Don Giovanni from the keyboard at the Estates Theatre. The opening had been delayed because the singers and orchestra needed more time to prepare the demanding new score. Lorenzo Da Ponte wrote the libretto, and the premiere was a triumph. It is the only remaining functioning theatre in the world where Mozart conducted a world premiere of his own opera. Anna Chromy's statue Il Commendatore has stood in front of it since 2000.

訪問のヒント: Still a working theatre, with a focus on Mozart's operas; check its programme for performances.

Mozart married Constanze Weber in Vienna's Stephansdom in 1782, and it was his parish church while he lived in the Figaro House; two of his children were baptised here. On 6 December 1791 the cathedral's Chapel of the Cross held his funeral. The chapel itself is not open to the public, but the cathedral is, and it ties together his wedding, his years as a parishioner and his farewell.

訪問のヒント: The cathedral is open to visitors, but the Chapel of the Cross is not open to the public.

Mozart was buried here in 1791, after the funeral in the Stephansdom. The belief that his grave went unmarked because he was too poor is false: the burial simply followed the regulations of the day. Later searches failed to find the spot, including one by his widow 17 years after his death. The memorial you see today was refurbished by the sculptor Florian Josephu-Drouot in 1950; the grave itself stays unmarked.

場所の精度: The grave is unmarked and its exact spot is lost; the pin marks the cemetery and its memorial.

訪問のヒント: The pin marks the cemetery, not the lost grave.