The renovation in the Mozarteum Foundation Salzburg started its hot phase at the beginning of the week. The Mozarteum is getting a “facelift” after 100 years. Since Monday, the work on the building on Schwarzstrasse in the city of Salzburg has also been visible from the outside. After extensive preparatory work, the demolition of the break foyer between the two main buildings began. The large foyer is scheduled to open in summer 2022.
Image: APA
The old break foyer in the middle wing of the building, which was built between 1912 and 1914, has become much too small over time. A new wing with the large foyer is now being built. The previous part of the building will be completely demolished by the start of the Salzburg Festival in summer 2021 and the foundations for the construction of the new complex will be implemented. The old facade between the main building of the Mozarteum and the Great Hall will remain.
“With the achievement of this milestone, the renovation is still on schedule, the opening of the Grand Foyer is planned for summer 2022”, the Mozarteum Foundation informed in a broadcast. The redesign of the break foyer connects “contemporary, filigree, airy, light and elegant” the two building parts of the Mozarteum and offers all guests and artists from 2022 “more space for Mozart” and a carefree concert visit in the Great Hall and in the Vienna Hall explained. One of the most modern concert halls in Europe will then be located in the middle of Salzburg.
The renovation work around the new building goes hand in hand with the modernization of the halls and the integration of the bastion garden into the concert operations. The diverse usable areas would also allow new event concepts. The plans come from the Salzburg architects Maria Flöckner and Hermann Schnöll, who won the competition in 2018. New artist rooms, depot and technical rooms as well as further toilets in the basement are also being built.
A break room with 170 square meters is being created on the first floor of the new building. On the ground floor, a significantly expanded entrance and cloakroom area and an additional staircase will be built on 200 square meters. The installation of another elevator will also enable barrier-free access to the entire building in the future. The foyer opens a new axis from Schwarzstraße to Mirabellgarten, which is why the Bastion Garden can be integrated for events, especially in summer.
The renovation costs of around nine million euros have been fully financed. According to the President of the Mozarteum Foundation, Johannes Honsig-Erlenburg, the money comes from its own reserves, private donations and there is also financial support from the public sector.
The foundation also started a building block campaign to finance the work. For a donation of 1,000 euros, the donors will receive a newly designed decorative object as a souvenir and will also be honored with their names on a plaque in the Mozarteum. Since the start of the campaign in autumn 2020, 150 stones have already been acquired by Mozart fans from Salzburg and around the world.
In order to enable the events of the Salzburg Festival 2021 and the Mozart Week 2022, the construction work will be interrupted twice for several weeks.
