The Birthplace of Beethoven's mother (German: ''Mutter-Beethoven-Haus'') is a cultural heritage monument in

Ehrenbreitstein Ehrenbreitstein Fortress (, ) is a fortress in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, on the east bank of the Rhine where it is joined by the Moselle, overlooking the town of Koblenz. Occupying the position of an earlier fortress destroyed by ...

, on the River

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

opposite

Koblenz Koblenz ( , , ; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz'') is a German city on the banks of the Rhine (Middle Rhine) and the Moselle, a multinational tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman military p ...

, in

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...

, Germany. Maria Magdalena Keverich, mother of the composer

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

, was born here in 1746; it is now a museum."Mutter-Beethoven-Haus"
regionalgeschichte.net. Retrieved 7 August 2024.

Description

Family history

Maria Magdalena's parents, Johann Heinrich Keverich (1702–1758) and Anna Klara Westorff (1707–1768), were married in 1731. From 1733, Johann was head cook at the court of

Franz Georg von Schönborn Franz Georg von Schönborn (15 June 168218 January 1756) was a German nobleman who served as Archdiocese of Trier, Archbishop and Electorate of Trier, Elector of Trier from 1729 until his death in 1756. He was also Bishopric of Worms, Prince-Bis ...

, the Elector of Trier, at Schloss Philippsburg in Ehrenbreitstein. Maria Magdalena, the youngest of several children, was born on 19 December 1746.

The building

The building, with a ground floor of stone and a half-timbered upper floor, dates from the 17th century. The façade was plastered in the following century. It was bought in 1960 by the city of Koblenz, and it was opened in 1975 as a memorial to Beethoven. After fire severely damaged the building, it was renovated in 1987–89, and a concert hall for chamber music was created from an adjoining building."Gebäude"
''Mutter-Beethoven-Haus''. Retrieved 8 August 2024.

Present day

The museum is owned by the in Koblenz. There is a permanent exhibition: themes include the history of Ehrenbreitstein, music at the Electoral Court and the Keverich family as servants at the court, musical culture in the

Biedermeier The Biedermeier period was an era in Central European art and culture between 1815 and 1848 during which the middle classes grew in number and artists began producing works appealing to their sensibilities. The period began with the end of th ...

period, and notable past residents of Ehrenbreitstein:

Sophie von La Roche Marie Sophie von La Roche (née Gutermann von Gutershofen; 6 December 1730 – 18 February 1807) was a German novelist. She is considered the first financially independent female professional writer in Germany. Biography Sophie von La Roche was ...

Clemens Brentano Clemens Wenzeslaus Brentano (also Klemens; pseudonym: Clemens Maria Brentano ; ; 9 September 1778 – 28 July 1842) was a German poet and novelist, and a major figure of German Romanticism. He was the uncle, via his brother Christian, of Franz a ...

and Henriette Sonntag. Special exhibitions are shown. Concerts regularly take place in the chamber music hall."Konzerte"
''Mutter-Beethoven-Haus''. Retrieved 7 August 2024.

References

{{Ludwig van Beethoven, state=collapsed Biographical museums in Germany Music museums in Germany Museums in Rhineland-Palatinate Ludwig van Beethoven museums Birthplaces of individual people