- Address: Richard-Wagner-Weg 27, 6005 Luzern, Switzerland
- Phone: +41 41 360 23 70
- Official website: http://www.richard-wagner-museum.ch
- Opening hours: daily 10: 00-17: 00, except Monday
- Cost of visit: 6 Swiss francs, if there is a museum card, admission is free
In the small Swiss town of Lucerne, right on the shore of Lake Vierwaldstaet, there is an estate in which from 1866 to 1872 the German composer Richard Wagner lived. In this beautiful place, surrounded by a park, the composer lived with his family and for these 6 years wrote one of the most amazing of his works.
From the history
Richard Wagner is a brilliant German composer who at the age of 53 was persecuted and attacked by creditors and was forced to flee with his family from Munich. The family found its quiet haven in a secluded estate on the shores of Lake Lucerne. During the period from 1866 to 1872 in the family the daughter of Eve and son Siegfried was born. According to the recollections of the composer himself, the year when they lived in Switzerland , he considered the most calm and happy in his entire life. Later, when they already lived in the German town of Bayreuth, he called this period "idyll".
While the composer's family lived in this estate, their guests were the famous philosopher Nietzsche, King of Bavaria Ludwig II, composer Franz Liszt and architect Gottfried Semper. Perhaps, thanks to the calm atmosphere and beautiful nature, the composer wrote a number of works:
- The opera "The death of the gods", "The Nuremberg Meistersinger" and "Siegfried";
- works "On Conducting" and "Beethoven";
- autobiography "My Life".
After the family moved to the German city of Bayreuth in 1872, the estate was empty for a while. Only in 1931 it was bought by the authorities of Lucerne in order to open the Wagner Museum here. In 1943, on the second floor of the estate, a museum of musical instruments was opened.
Features of the museum
The Richard Wagner Museum in Lucerne occupies five rooms on the ground floor. It consists of several expositions that tell about the life and work of this brilliant composer, more precisely about the days when he lived in this estate. Here you can find pictures and pictures of the Wagner family, drafts of operas, clothes and personal belongings, as well as personal letters and score, written by the composer himself. There is an exposition in which the personal belongings of Cosima Wagner - the composer's spouses are collected.
The museum is decorated with paintings, archival records and busts of famous personalities, which depicts the composer himself, as well as two of his eminent guests - Friedrich Nietzsche and Ludwig II of Bavaria. In the center of the main hall is the Parisian grand piano "Erar", which belonged to Richard Wagner.
On the second floor of the estate there is a museum of musical instruments, the pearl of which is an old portable organ. The manor is located in one of the picturesque corners of Lucerne, so even behind the doors of the Wagner Museum you will find many pleasant experiences. You can take a walk on the shore of Lake Lucerne or get acquainted with the bronze monument of Richard Wagner, which was created by Friedrich Schaper. Right in the courtyard of the museum there is a cozy cafe, where you can not only have a snack, but also admire the beautiful views of the mountains and the lake.
How to get there?
The visiting season at the Wagner Museum opens on March 15 and lasts until November 30. At this time, you can get here by bus routes 6, 7 and 8 from the railway station to the Wartegg stop.
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