Mozart Monument

Since 1953, the Mozart Monument in honor of composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) has stood in the Burggarten in Vienna’s 1st district.The memorial is located just across from Eschenbachgasse and can be viewed from the Burgring.

The 7.5-meter-high monument was designed by architect Karl König (1841-1915) and sculptor Viktor Tilgner (1844-1896) and unveiled on Albrechtsplatz (now Albertinaplatz) on April 21, 1896, five days after Tilgner’s death.The artist’s date of death was added to Viktor Tilgner’s signature.

The statues are constructed of Lasa marble from Vinschgau, South Tyrol, while the foundation steps are built of black diorite.The composer is represented with a music stand on a pedestal embellished with embellishments, masks, and wreaths and enclosed by a semi-circular railing of Sterzing (South Tyrol) coarse marble.The moving putti figures on the base, which symbolize the strength of Mozart’s music, already refer to Art Nouveau.A relief on the front displays two scenes from Mozart’s opera, The Invitation and the Appearance of the Stone GuestDon Giovanni, while on the reverse, based on a picture by Louis Carmontelle, Mozart is represented at the age of six with his father and sister.

The Mozart Monument Fund was established 77 years before the monument’s inauguration.However, both the site and the design of the monument were problematic.The installation site was suggested for City Hall Park, City Park, and Albrechtsplatz.Two artist contests were required to select the best design, with Viktor Tilgner’s idea finishing second by the expert panel.The Mozart Monument Committee, however, selected his design over Edmund von Hellmer’s.

The monument was damaged in an air strike on March 12, 1945, and it was put in its current site in the Burggarten on June 5, 1953, after it was restored.Two pillars built of St. Margarethen sand-lime brick were added to the monument. A floral border in the shape of a clef surrounds the memorial.