{"id":21616,"date":"2019-12-27T13:34:09","date_gmt":"2019-12-27T12:34:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/?p=21616"},"modified":"2025-08-18T09:53:01","modified_gmt":"2025-08-18T08:53:01","slug":"fledermaus-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/footsteps\/fledermaus-house\/","title":{"rendered":"The Fledermaus House"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/fledermaus.jpg\" alt=\"Strauss plaque\" class=\"wp-image-21618\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/fledermaus.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/fledermaus-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Chalk up another tick on the musical experience checklist. This unassuming house provided a home for one of Vienna&#8217;s great musical sons and great musical creations: Johann Strauss II and <em>Die Fledermaus<\/em> operetta.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Strauss lived and composed here from 1870 &#8211; 1878<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Plaque outside explains the Strauss connection<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A private house, so can only be viewed from the street<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Book a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiqets.com\/en\/concerts-opera-vienna-tickets-l206741\/?partner=visitingvienna&amp;tq_campaign=LG_Strauss\" rel=\"sponsored\">classical concert experience<\/a>* for Vienna<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>See also:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/footsteps\/johann-strauss\/\">Strauss in Vienna<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/footsteps\/house-strauss-casino-zogernitz\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"68512\">House of Strauss<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/footsteps\/strauss-apartment\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"21449\">Strauss apartment<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/footsteps\/strauss-museum\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"22944\">Johann Strauss Museum<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Die Fledermaus<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/fledermaushouse.jpg\" alt=\"The Fledermaus House\" class=\"wp-image-46799\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/fledermaushouse.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/fledermaushouse-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(The original building still stands here)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Visit the unassuming two-storey house on Vienna&#8217;s Maxingstra\u00dfe and a small plaque hints at its musical past. Here\u2019s my translation of the text:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Johann Strauss lived in this house (which was his own) from 1870 to 1878 and wrote his immortal \u201cDie Fledermaus\u201d here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wiener Schubertbund 1934<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>(The Wiener Schubertbund is the Vienna Schubert Association, founded in 1863 and still going strong today.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By 1870, Strauss already enjoyed celebrity status, and had recently given concerts in both Paris and London.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the next decade, he turned his hand to operettas with the not inconsiderable help of the Prussian-born librettist, Richard Gen\u00e9e. A number of pieces emerged while Strauss lived on Maxingstra\u00dfe, including his most famous work in that genre: <em>Die Fledermaus<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div align=\"center\"><em>Ad:<\/em><br><\/div><div data-tiqets-widget=\"discovery\" data-cards-layout=\"horizontal\" data-content-type=\"product\" data-content-ids=\"1084652,1029872\" data-partner=\"visitingvienna\" data-tq-campaign=\"DA_Strauss\"><\/div><script defer src=\"https:\/\/widgets.tiqets.com\/loader.js\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The premiere took place in 1874 at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/entertainment\/opera\/theater-wien\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"18961\">Theater an der Wien<\/a>, beginning the long association between Vienna and this operetta. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not all initial reviews predicted the subsequent long-term success of the piece. A rather unimpressed writer in the <em>Express<\/em> weekly newspaper of April 7th, 1874 ended their article so (my translation):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>The &#8220;Fledermaus&#8221; will have flapped its last wings soon<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>That statement hasn&#8217;t aged well. For example, Vienna&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/entertainment\/opera\/staatsoper\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"1071\">State Opera House<\/a> traditionally performs <em>Die Fledermaus<\/em> every <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/entertainment\/new-years-eve\/\">New Year&#8217;s Eve<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The overture remains one of classical music&#8217;s most recognisable and even featured memorably in the 1950 cartoon, <em>Tom and Jerry in the Hollywood Bowl<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"320\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/straussfledermaus.jpg\" alt=\"A character from the operetta Die Fledermaus\" class=\"wp-image-66380\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/straussfledermaus.jpg 320w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/straussfledermaus-213x300.jpg 213w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 320px) 100vw, 320px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Jani Szika as the character Eisenstein in <em>Die Fledermaus<\/em>, photographed by Julius Gertinger in 1874; Szika was the first actor to play the role; Wien Museum Inv.-Nr. 108257\/39; excerpt reproduced with permission under the terms of the CC0 licence)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unfortunately, the house that gave birth to <em>Die Fledermaus<\/em> is in private hands, so you can&#8217;t look around. But pictures are easily taken from across the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Curiously, Johann Strauss is not the only famous former resident here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to another plaque on the house exterior, the painter Julius Schmid (1854\u20131935) lived here between 1898 and 1925.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In tandem with the musical theme, Schmid is known for his paintings featuring Beethoven and Schubert. His 1897 <em>Eine Schubertiade<\/em>, for example, features the latter performing at the piano at a private house concert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The same plaque also claims the composer Carl Prohaska (1869 &#8211; 1927) lived in the house from 1911 until his death.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/straussplaquefledermaus.jpg\" alt=\"Strauss plaque at the Fledermaus house\" class=\"wp-image-49375\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/straussplaquefledermaus.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/straussplaquefledermaus-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(The Strauss plaque)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to get to the Fledermaus House<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The house sits on Maxingstra\u00dfe, a road that travels up the western edge of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/schonbrunn\/gardens-park\/\">Sch\u00f6nbrunn park<\/a> area. The Hietzing subway station (U4) is quite close, so you can walk up from there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Carry on past the house to find a little side entrance to the botanic gardens part of Sch\u00f6nbrunn park. If it&#8217;s closed, then you need to walk back down toward Hietzing station to find the main entrance to the park that also leads to the palace proper and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sightseeing\/palace-of-schonbrunn\/vienna-zoo\/\">zoo<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Walk even further up Maxingstra\u00dfe to discover Hietzing cemetery and the last resting place of Strauss&#8217;s first wife, Henriette, and his sisters, Theresia and Anna. The same cemetery contains the graves of the artist, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/footsteps\/klimt-grave\/\">Gustav Klimt<\/a>, and the architect and designer, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/footsteps\/wagner-grave\/\">Otto Wagner<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Address: Maxingstra\u00dfe 18, 1130 Vienna<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div align=\"center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/u\/0\/embed?mid=1xknJ5WvhSnFTHTgqWmdXMkwLmNbn1U5j\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chalk up another tick on the musical experience checklist. This unassuming house provided a home for one of Vienna&#8217;s great musical sons and great musical creations: Johann Strauss II and Die Fledermaus operetta. Die Fledermaus (The original building still stands here) Visit the unassuming two-storey house on Vienna&#8217;s Maxingstra\u00dfe and a small plaque hints at [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21618,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-21616","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-footsteps","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21616","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21616"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21616\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85187,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21616\/revisions\/85187"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21616"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21616"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21616"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}