What is there
to see?

Before the journey begins, you’re equipped with an audio guide and headphones that automatically recognise each room. The orange floor markings clearly show when a new chapter starts — very handy, because you can simply put the audio guide in your pocket and don’t need to press or do anything. All that’s left to do is walk, look, and listen.

Part 1 (or rather, Act 1) of this journey into the past takes you back to 1825, the birth year of Johann Strauss II. Here, you get to know his father, Johann Strauss I, and how his music captivated society. As you pass by the glowing, seemingly floating portraits of the Strauss family on the walls, you’re accompanied by music that beautifully evokes the spirit of the era.

A sense of change and new beginnings fills the air, which becomes even more apparent in the next room. The political and social upheavals of 1848 also affected the life of Johann Strauss II. At the time, Strauss was in his early twenties and just launching his career. His father played for the emperor and the military, while the son played for the revolutionaries — leading, unsurprisingly, to intense tensions between them.

From here, the atmosphere (at least for now) becomes more cheerful again. Visitors head upstairs, where they learn more about Strauss’s colourful love life. The world-famous composer was married three times, and his letters reveal that his romantic life was anything but dull — it was marked by jealousy and longing.

In the upper rooms, things become even more interactive. Thanks to a “composition machine,” you can create your own waltz and challenge Johann Strauss himself for the title of “Waltz King.” 😉

Next come rooms and stories about his operettas, which lift the mood. But just as the atmosphere reaches its peak, it turns somber again: we arrive at the period after Johann Strauss’s death. His brother Eduard, also a composer and conductor, took care of the family’s estate — but did something dreadful. In a fit of anger and frustration, Eduard destroyed the entire family archive in 1907. Hundreds of original scores, handwritten manuscripts, letters, and valuable documents were burned. The multimedia presentation conveys the tragedy of this event vividly — almost too dramatically, but only almost. 😉

The grand finale in the last room brings the time journey to a satisfying close. Visitors can sit down, close their eyes, and simply listen — or, if they prefer to keep them open, enjoy the accompanying video projections. I tried both, and with the 30 minutes that Act 7 lasts, there was plenty of time for that.

Who was
Johann Strauss II?

Johann Strauss II, born on 25 October 1825 in Vienna, was an Austrian composer, conductor, and violinist. He had an exceptional sense of rhythm and melody, and his music radiates a distinct joy for life. Strauss composed more than 500 works, including waltzes, polkas, marches, and operettas.

His most famous piece is undoubtedly The Blue Danube — often called Austria’s unofficial national anthem — which earned him the nickname “The Waltz King.” Although the son became known as the “King of Waltzes,” it was actually his father, also named Johann Strauss, who helped establish the Viennese waltz in the first place.

Interestingly, Strauss’s father did not want his son to follow in his footsteps, having experienced firsthand how difficult and uncertain the life of a musician could be. He hoped his son would choose a “respectable” profession instead. But the younger Strauss ignored his father’s wishes — he founded his own orchestra and composed in secret, which caused great strain in their relationship.

Johann Strauss II died of pneumonia on 3 June 1899 in Vienna. His honorary grave can still be visited today at Vienna’s Central Cemetery.