The "Beethoven Way" in Jedlesee

[Hollywood]

Through the many invites of Countess Anna Maria Erdödy Beethoven visited her at her country villa in "Alt-Jedlesee" (which is now located in Vienna's 21st District, Floridsdorf). On 12 May 2007 was the grand opening of the "Beethovenweg" (Beethoven Way) Memorial in Jedlesee which consists of 6 stations along the Beethoven way. At each of these stations there is a monument of a stainless steel broken tuning fork (pics of this monument are enclosed in the gallery at the website listed below). These stations include the District Museum in Floridsdorf, the Karl Seitz yard, the Beethoven memorial at the Erdödy villa, the parish church in Jedlesee, the Aupark and O'Brien monuments as well as the Danube Island (Kirschenhain).

Here is the website to see the photos taken at this grand opening of the Beethoven Way on 12 May 2007:
http://213.90.74.226/Filialen/main.p...eg_Eroeffnung/

[Peter]

Thanks for that - but a tuning fork? Couldn't they have come up with something a little more Beethovian like a hearing trumpet?!

[Preston]

Thanks for that - but a tuning fork? Couldn't they have come up with something a little more Beethovian like a hearing trumpet?!

I agree, a tuning fork is odd. When I was looking through the pictures I saw this gold sheet and was very curious to what it was, and then it was a tuning fork!!! I thought it would be a statue or something. It is way to modern also, at least for my taste. An ear trumpet seems like a reasonable statue.

[Hollywood]

I also thought that something other than a tuning fork would have been a better choice. How are people to know just from seeing these tuning forks that they have anything to do with Beethoven?

I would have either a bronze bust of Beethoven or a large bronze replica of the 1927 Beethoven medal struck by Arnold Hartig (pictured below) instead of a huge tuning fork:



I have a copy of this medal that I bought here in Vienna back in 1990 and it is one of my favorite Beethoven related items.

[Hofrat]

I think that the broken tuning fork is most touching. It brought a tear to my eye.

In the Library of Congress, there is a wonderful statue of Beethoven. He is cupping his ear, which is also very heart-rending.