Traditional spa town? Far from true! Today, the historic imperial town of Baden is an oasis of rejuvenating energy boasting a vibrant cultural life! We celebrate ‘slow living’ and indulging all your senses is our goal. With the Arnulf Rainer Museum, the Baden Beethoven House and the La Gacilly Photo Festival the spa town takes its place on the international cultural stage. For four months during the summer the whole town turns into a gallery presenting an open-air display of the world’s best photographers with more than 3,000 pictures and 38 exhibitions, set against the unique backdrop of Baden’s historical architecture and beautifully laid-out gardens.
Beethoven House
Ludwig van Beethoven regularly came to Baden to bolster his health. And he was not alone! The high gentry and well-to-do burghers including many patrons of the famous composer also gathered here, as did Emperor Franz I and his family on their summer holidays. In the summer months of 1821, 1822 and 1823 Beethoven stayed at the house in the Rathausgasse 10. During these years he wrote the central parts of his Ninth Symphony.
Since the autumn of 2014, this house – the “Beethoven House” – has become home to a modern museum on Beethoven as a person and musical genius.
Visitors experience the composer’s life and work in a very different and surprising way. The Biedermeier living rooms with their original wall paintings allow a glimpse into Beethoven’s life and surroundings in Baden. In addition, the compositions created in Baden – the Ninth Symphony among them – are uniquely brought to life, visibly and audibly. Nowhere else in the world can you immerse yourself with such depth into the composer’s everyday life. The Beethoven House has become an authentic pilgrimage place for those seeking to explore all the facets of this musical genius.
The museum shop on the ground floor offers a wide range of high-quality Beethoven souvenirs and CDs.
Arnulf Rainer Museum
The Arnulf Rainer Museum unites the architectonical jewel of the former Women’s Bath with the oeuvre of the world-famous artist. Born in Baden (*1929), two exhibitions per year now highlight Arnulf Rainer’s work in diverse ways – from monographic exhibits to dialogue-oriented ones integrating his contemporaries, friends and colleagues.
