Mendelssohn House is a small music museum in the Leipzig apartment where composer Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy spent his final years and died in 1847. Restored rooms, period furnishings, letters and watercolours offer an unusually personal view of the Romantic composer, whose work helped shape the city’s musical life.
As director of the Gewandhaus Orchestra and a founder of the Leipzig Conservatory, Mendelssohn left a lasting mark on the city. The museum also explores the life and music of his sister Fanny Hensel, herself a gifted composer. For a more hands-on encounter, the interactive Effektorium lets visitors try conducting a virtual orchestra.
Allow one to two hours for the exhibitions, and check the museum’s website for current opening times and its concert programme; performances in the music salon are especially worth planning around. The house is on Goldschmidtstraße, within walking distance of central Leipzig and close to tram connections.