Robert Schumann House, Leipzig

The Schumann House in Leipzig is the former home of the German composer Robert Schumann and his wife and famous pianist Clara Schumann (née Clara Wieck). Here, the Schumanns lived for their first four years of their marriage, from 1840 to 1844.

The house was built in 1838 by Friedrich August Scheidel. The strictly symmetrical Neoclassical building has three stories; the couple lodged in the first floor apartment.

In a sense, their home was a cultural venue. Among their guests here were the likes of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Franz Liszt, Richard Wagner, Hector Berlioz and Hans Christian Andersen. Works composed by Robert Schumann during this period include the Spring Symphony, the three String Quartets, and the Piano Quintet.

Although the house survived the Second World War largely undamaged, it fell into disrepair during the 1970s, despite being listed as a historical monument in the GDR. In 1999, the building was bought by the Rahn Dittrich Group and renovated.

Supported by the Robert and Clara Schumann Association (established in 1995), the Schumann Museum comprises exhibition rooms in the former apartment, plus the so-called Schumann Salon, where the Schumanns received their guests, the Travel Room, dedicated to the Schumanns' concert tours to Denmark in 1842 and Russia in 1844, and the Sound Room (Klangraum), designed in the style of the Biedermeier period, containing interactive sound installation by the artist Erwin Stache. Apart from the museum, the building houses a small concert hall and the Clara Schumann primary school with an artistic and musical profile.

The concert hall regularly hosts musical performances, readings and discussions. The venue is included in the UNESCO Leipzig Music Trail. In 2019, to mark Clara Schumann's 200th anniversary, the Schumann House opened a renewed and expanded permanent exhibition.