Robert Schumann House

Museum – Concert Hall – Research Center

Visiting the Most Famous Musical Couple of German Romanticism

On June 8, 1810, the composer Robert Schumann was born in a corner house on Zwickau’s main market square. His father, August Schumann, who achieved success as the inventor of the pocket-sized book, ran a bookstore and publishing business in this house. Today, it houses the world’s largest Schumann collection, featuring more than 4,000 original manuscripts by Robert Schumann (1810–1856) and his wife, the pianist Clara, née Wieck (1819–1896). 

The permanent exhibition, comprising a total of eight rooms, features valuable paintings, musical instruments, prints, manuscripts, and memorabilia. Robert Schumann’s birthroom is fully furnished with historical furniture that belonged to Robert and Clara Schumann, including, as a special highlight, the Vienna Stein grand piano on which Clara Schumann made her concert debut at the Leipzig Gewandhaus in 1828 at the age of nine. This instrument once graced the 100-DM banknote. 

Guided tours are available in five languages, and there are also tours on special themes and specifically for children’s groups. The foyer on the ground floor features special exhibitions that change quarterly, and the museum shop is also located there. 

When a monument to Robert Schumann was erected in Zwickau in 1901, musicologist Max Friedländer suggested in one of the commemorative speeches that a Schumann Museum be established. On the 100th anniversary of Robert Schumann’s birth on June 8, 1910, the first result of these efforts was presented in a special exhibition in the auditorium of the Zwickau Gymnasium. Starting in 1913, four permanent rooms were set up for the Schumann exhibition in the newly built König-Albert-Museum. In 1956, this Schumann Museum was relocated to the site of his birthplace. The building complex now houses a museum, a concert hall, and a research center. Today, work is underway here on the new complete edition of Schumann’s musical works and on the edition of Schumann’s letters. The extensive archival holdings on 19th-century music history serve as a resource center for scholars from around the world. 

The focus of the collections is the composer’s extensive autobiographical, literary, and musicological estate. Added to this is the even larger collection of manuscripts by Clara Schumann and numerous other 19th-century composers. Among the most significant autograph scores by Schumann held here are the sketches for the opera Genoveva, Op. 81, and for Dichterliebe, Op. 48; the working manuscripts for the Album für die Jugend, Op. 68, and the Faschingsschwank aus Wien, Op. 26; as well as the autograph score of the overture to Hermann und Dorothea, Op. 136. In addition, there are several autograph albums, including the so-called “Bride’s Book” and Clara Schumann’s “Endenich Flower Diary.” The extensive collections of images include numerous early forms of photographic prints and original paintings by artists such as Eduard Bendemann, Carl Jäger, and Franz von Lenbach. Among the printed sheet music, Schumann’s collection of first editions of his complete works stands out, and among the extensive holdings of concert programs, Clara Schumann’s complete collection of programs. 

The concert hall of the Robert Schumann House is distinguished by its excellent acoustics. Chamber concerts and recitals take place here regularly. In addition to several of its own chamber concerts per season, the hall is rented out for events of all kinds. The spectrum ranges from early music to jazz and salon music. Non-musical events also make use of the unique ambiance. The International Robert Schumann Competitions for Piano and Voice, the Little Schumann Competition for Young Pianists, and the Robert Schumann Choral Competition also host concerts and events here. The City of Zwickau’s Robert Schumann Prize is traditionally awarded here.