Brahms Museum

The Brahms Museum stands in Mürzzuschlag, a town in the Austrian province of Styria. It occupies the building where Johannes Brahms spent the summers of 1884 and 1885. The composer rented rooms here for nine months in total. During this stay he wrote his Symphony No. 4 and many songs. The house has been restored to its 19th-century appearance. The museum shows a permanent exhibition about Brahms’s time in Mürzzuschlag. Visitors see personal items and photographs connected with the composer. A grand piano once played by Brahms is on display. The exhibition also describes his circle of friends, some of whom travelled to the town to visit him. The displays explain how the surroundings influenced his work. Inside the museum the rooms are arranged to reflect Brahms’s living quarters. Photographs and documents illustrate his daily life and musical activity. The grand piano occupies a central place in the exhibition. Visitors can read about the friends who came to Mürzzuschlag to meet him. The displays convey the quiet atmosphere that helped Brahms compose during his stay.