Is the von Breuning house still standing in Bonn?

[Lindegard]

Visiting Bonn soon. Most Beethoven-related buildings are gone, wondered whether the von Breuning house remains (on Munsterplatz). Thx! Lindegard

[Michael]

I stayed in a hotel a few yards from the Munsterplatz for a few days in 2010 and I'm embarrassed to have to say that I don't know. I don't think it is because the famous statue of Beethoven faced towards the von Breunig house when it was erected in 1845.

I and my family spent a lot of time in the square and I'm sure there would have been a plaque or something on the original house if it were still there. (Mind you, there was a bar in the square and some alcoholic beverages may have been consumed so some of my recollections are hazy).

The building directly behind the statue was originally the house of Count von Furstenburg, where the boy Beethoven used to go to give piano lessons. It is now the Bonn Post Office (of interest to me because I was a postal worker!)

I hope you enjoy your stay in Bonn. It's a beautiful small city. Be sure to see the Beethon (the large concrete head of Beethoven) which is just outside the concert hall - and, needless to say, the Beethovenhaus must be visited.


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[Lindegard]

The von Breuning house is NOT still standing

Had a very productive though short visit to Bonn. (This is for research on my novel about young Beethoven, "The Black Spaniard.") The von Breuning house is not standing, though you can walk in the Markt in the general area where it stood. I was surprised just how close together the various Beethoven family dwellings were! The Bonngasse, Rheingasse, Wenzelgasse, Dreieckplatz, and Neugasse homes would have been a couple of blocks distant from each other at the most. Of course, only the birth house now stands.

Visited the grave of Maria van Beethoven, beautifully kept, in the Alter Friedhof about 10 minutes from the Beethoven Haus. The B Haus itself was a real treat, much richer in holdings than I had been led to believe. I spent about 2-1/2 hours there and am hoping to go back in September for another visit, since there are items I absolutely must see again.

I stayed in the Beethoven Hotel which is on the site of the academy where Beethoven attended school. My room faced the Name of Jesus Church, towering over the old city, a sight that Ludwig would have seen daily for several years.

The university archivist with whom I had a prescheduled meeting allowed me to view the interior of the Electoral court chapel where Neefe and Beethoven played the organ. Much reconstructed over time, certainly, but it was awe-inspiring to stand there and look up at the organ (not the one they played, but in the same general position). I also spent an afternoon (by appointment) studying texts in the Beethoven Bibliothek.

More than 50 years ago, I loved Beethoven so much that I changed my handwriting to look like his! :-) I knew the address of the birth house as well as I did my own, and finally got to pay it a visit this month. There is more to tell, and I learned so much, and corrected mistakes I made throughout my writing. While Beethoven didn't live in Bonn for long, it WAS more than a third of his life, and contains many treasures. (I was privileged to visit most of the Beethoven sites in Vienna 20 years ago.) Yes, the music is what matters most, but for many of us, the man also is extraordinary.

[Peter]

Thank you very much for that account Lindegard - it's over 30 years since I visited the Beethovenhaus and it's time I went again! Do keep in touch about your book.

[AeolianHarp]

I'm dying to go I tell you! Thanks for the account Lingard. I am quite annoyed the RAF destroyed the Rheingasse in 1944 and even Beethovenhaus had a bomb dropped on its roof. That is disgraceful- what had Beethoven got to do with the war?! Very disrespectful.

[Peter]

I'm dying to go I tell you! Thanks for the account Lingard. I am quite annoyed the RAF destroyed the Rheingasse in 1944 and even Beethovenhaus had a bomb dropped on its roof. That is disgraceful- what had Beethoven got to do with the war?! Very disrespectful.

At least Napoleon had guards posted outside Haydn's house in 1809 to protect him!

[AeolianHarp]

I didn't know that!

[Albert Gans]

It is amazing how much I learn from this site about a man that has contributed so much to my life.

Thanks for that wealth of information !

Would have been interested to hear what Beethoven would have had to say about the French guards outside the Haydn-Haus. I think his relationship with the occupation troups was frayed, to say the least. I remember an anecdote somewhere where he refused to play for French officers. Was it with good old Lichnowksy?

Albert

[Peter]

It is amazing how much I learn from this site about a man that has contributed so much to my life.

Thanks for that wealth of information !

Would have been interested to hear what Beethoven would have had to say about the French guards outside the Haydn-Haus. I think his relationship with the occupation troups was frayed, to say the least. I remember an anecdote somewhere where he refused to play for French officers. Was it with good old Lichnowksy?

Albert

Yes that was during the earlier 1805 occupation, but during the 1809 invasion, Beethoven became friends with the French officer Baron de Tremont and even played for him. According to Tremont, Beethoven also agreed to a proposed visit to Paris, but this was abandoned because Tremont was posted to Moravia, then Croatia.

[AeolianHarp]

Yes and he left Lichnowsky's residence carrying his music sheets under his arms in the pouring rain, and the mansucripts still have the water marks to this day.

And what would he have thought of the RAF bombing his house of birth and being stationed in Bonn?!

[Peter]

Yes and he left Lichnowsky's residence carrying his music sheets under his arms in the pouring rain, and the mansucripts still have the water marks to this day.

And what would he have thought of the RAF bombing his house of birth and being stationed in Bonn?!

As a man who loathed tyranny, I think he would have welcomed it given the evil of Hitler and would have been thrilled at the use of his 9th symphony to celebrate the fall of the Berlin wall.

[AeolianHarp]

As a man who loathed tyranny, I think he would have welcomed it given the evil of Hitler and would have been thrilled at the use of his 9th symphony to celebrate the fall of the Berlin wall.

Yes, he loathed tryanny- so why bomb his former homes?!!! Yes, I am sure he would approve about his Ninth celebrating the fall of the Berlin Wall!

[Peter]

Yes, he loathed tryanny- so why bomb his former homes?!!! Yes, I am sure he would approve about his Ninth celebrating the fall of the Berlin Wall!

I'm sure they weren't deliberately targeting Beethoven's house - bombing wasn't that precise then! Anyway at least it's repaired and saved for future generations. When do you plan to visit?

[AeolianHarp]

I'm sure they weren't deliberately targeting Beethoven's house - bombing wasn't that precise then! Anyway at least it's repaired and saved for future generations. When do you plan to visit?

My plan to visit depends upon two things Peter- ridding myself of this wretched eczema and earning some money again. So at this rate who knows!
I hope it is within the next year or so.

Are you planning to go again?

I was also wondering if they have got the Horneman minature on display? I'd love to see it.

[Peter]

My plan to visit depends upon two things Peter- ridding myself of this wretched eczema and earning some money again. So at this rate who knows!
I hope it is within the next year or so.

Are you planning to go again?

I was also wondering if they have got the Horneman minature on display? I'd love to see it.

I wish you luck with both of those ambitions - I'd love to go again one day, it's been over 30 years!