Wednesday 29 August 2007

Looking for Beethoven in the Vineyards


Kahlenberger Strasse
Vienna's vineyards and their vintners' taverns,
the so-called "Heurigen", are mostly located
in the 19th District, "Döbling".
Kahlenberger Strasse runs through the "Nussdorf" section
of this district towards the Vienna Woods.

"Kahlenberg" is the highest point
of the Vienna woods and offers a view of
the vineyards below, the city beyond,
and the Danube meandering
towards Hungary.

Greiner Gasse 37

Ludwig van Beethoven loved to summer
either here in the 19th District
(most often in Heiligenstadt)
or south of Vienna,
in the wine-growing area around Baden bei Wien.


Beethoven lived upstairs
Summer of 1817
Kahlenberger Strasse 26

Courtyard Gate
of the house on Kahlenberger Strasse 26

Steinschaden Vintner and Heurigen
This house dates back to the 18th Century and
was originally the residence and blacksmith's workshop
of the Black Friars (Dominikaner) from nearby Tulln,
a small town in Lower Austria.

Brunnerhof Heurigen Diem
Kahlenberger Strasse 1
The Diem family traces their roots
back to 900 AD.


Schubel Auer Heurigen
Kahlenberger Strasse 22

Courtyard of Schubel Auer Heurigen
Kahlenberger Strasse 22

Schuhmacher Harald Rammel
Shoemaker at Kahlenberger Strasse 41

Courtyard
Nussdorfer Strasse



23 comments:

  1. Ah, Merisi, these photographs are esquisite.. I love the angles you choose, the detail you see. You truly have a gift, my dear!

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  2. Of course, Beethoven stayed in that beautiful building - it is just so perfect.
    He is my favourite composer.
    Have you ever seen the movie "Immortal Beloved" - it is exquisitely beautiful.

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  3. What lovely photos Merisi. There's something about doorways that lets the imagination run wild with speculation about what lays on the other side.

    Thx for visiting my 'Bath Time' post.

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  4. It looks like the kind of residence a shoemaker who lives with elves would have! Fairy-tale-esque, so to speak...Nice :)

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  5. Beautiful photography. So many beautiful places to see and photography. And such history.

    Your Sony camera still does a good job.

    Thanks for visiting my blog and for commenting there.

    You mentioned your camera and age and I will attempt to respond by email.

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  6. Gosh, are you ever going to run out of things to photograph in Vienna? It seem inexhaustible :-)

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  7. I was just going to say the same as Maalie. Thankfully he has restored my poor llama!
    Can't been Beethoven, unless it's Mozart!
    Lorenzo.

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  8. Yes, but did you find him? And did you tase any wine???

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  9. Shrink Wrapped Scream:
    Thank you, you are very generous. :-)
    It's a sort of mind game, trying to see if one can translate the feel of a place into pictures.

    freefalling:
    Apparently he stayed in this one building only one summer long. I visited today the Heiligenstadt house, where he wrote that famous letter, the "Testament", there he stayed more often. The rooms he lived in are being renovated right now, almost ready for the public. I have seen the movie, a long time ago. Need to watch it again (even though I am never happy with fictionalizing real people's life).

    Ali:
    Welcome and thank you!
    Your duck images are wonderful.

    Brian in Oxford:
    Yes, I had the very same thought when I read the sign. He's vacationing right now, so the elves are probably out and about too. ;-)

    oldmanlincoln:
    Thank you! :-)
    The history of these places is truly interesting, several of the vintner families have been in these vineyards for many generations.
    Yes, I still manage to coax the one or other photo out of my Sony, but it is not age she's suffering from (she's only a year old), but some strange spots that ruin the pictures. Should be covered under the warranty, yet after having sent the camera in, the same problem developed again.

    Maalie:
    You better fasten your seatbelt, I have only just begun! ;-)))

    lorenzothellama:
    I love both Beethoven and Mozart. I wished their lives would have been filled with more joys.
    (Glad to hear that your brother put that poor Llama back in its place. *g*)

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  10. Sara:
    Yes to both qestions.
    I went back today, to check out the other "Beethoven houses" in Heiligenstadt (in walking distance to the Nussdorf house, really, up Eroica Gasse to Pfarrplatz).

    After getting a preview of the Heiligenstädter apartment, I had a delicious Viennese fried chicken at the Brandl place in Grinzing (there's a picture in the previous post), with a glass of Grüner Veltliner.

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  11. Thankyou for visiting my blog. You have some really beautiful pictures on all three of your sites, they make me want to catch a 'plane and travel to the wonderful places you have photographed.

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  12. Like Maalie I realize you are in such an incredible part of the world where there is so much charm and beauty! So glad you take the time to share your talented eye and skills with all of us!

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  13. Pauline:
    Welcome and thank you! :-)

    rochambeau:
    Thank you. :-)
    You think I may arrived there,
    "Là, tout n'est qu'ordre et beauté
    Luxe, calme et volupté
    , "? *smile*

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  14. Your photos, Merisi have the same ring as "Mignonne, allons voir si la rose.."
    "Donc, si vous me croyez, mignonne...
    Tandis que vostre âge fleuronne
    En sa plus verte nouveauté,
    Cueillez, cueillez vostre jeunesse..." Ronsard...


    Thank you for the link to the French poetry.

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  15. During my first visit to Vienna, some new friends whom I met at Kaffee Alt Wien took me "Heurigen Hopping". I had a great time, but for the life of me, I can't remember which ones we visited!

    Thank for these beautiful photos which, although I can't remember much about that night, brought back memories of a happy time.

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  16. CREAM:
    Thank you, I am glad you enjoyed the poetry. :-)

    INCURABLE INSOMNIAC:
    I shall never forget the evening when I visited a Heurigen for the first time during one of my first nights in Vienna (had to - hi Wally!). I shall never forget that drive to Grinzing through the Wienerwald through torrential rains ("it was a dark and stormy night and the rain fell in torrents .. " *g*. I am still not a Heurigen enthusiast, but I have come to love Nussdorf and Heiligenstadt and walks in the vineyards.

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  17. you live in a city
    where
    you can write:

    *beethoven lived upstairs*

    and
    then show these amazing photos.

    :-)

    i have to say,
    i am looking forward
    to watching the seasons change through your camera lens.

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  18. Wine in Vienna ...well we have all . Sun , beautiful places , friendly poeple like you , wonderful music and wine ...LET'S GO

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  19. Yes, I agree with somepinkflowers: my heart would beat too fast every time I was in the vicinity of that house.

    Thanks to the BBC Proms broadcasts (and 'Listen again' http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/2007/promsbroadcast/radio/), I have been listening to the Bavarian Radio Symphony Chorus and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (cond Mariss Jansons) perform Beethoven's 'Choral' symphony as I wound down the working week.

    On Wednesday, London has the Leipzig Gewandhaus: Coriolan; the violin concerto and Brahms No. 4. I think I'm going to just have to go down and hear that 'live'.

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  20. There's also a new film about Beethoven ('Drama Aspiring composer Anna Holz accepts an offer from publisher Herr Schlemmer to work alongside Beethoven, copying the score of his Ninth Symphony,. . .')
    although I haven't seen either.

    (http://www.viewlondon.co.uk/films/copying-beethoven-film-review-20027.html )

    I wouldn't mind seeing 'immortal beloved' - but it's that music, his music, that matters.

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  21. Beautiful doorways and windows. All the homes look like something out of a fairy tale.

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  22. Thank you for these beautiful photos and little glimpses of history. As a Beethoven fan, I particularly appreciate these. xo

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  23. Yes when are you going to show us Mozart's appartment?
    PfaarBreakfasts

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