The Museum
The Bachhaus Eisenach was opened on 27 May 1907 as the first museum dedicated to Johann Sebastian Bach. It is owned by the Neue Bachgesellschaft (New Bach Society) which was founded in 1900 and has ca. 3,000 members worldwide.
Today, the Bachhaus, with over 300 original exhibits over an area of 600 m2, is one of the most significant exhibitions focussing on Bachʼs life and music. One of its unique features is the performance each hour of short concerts in the “instrument hall”: on two organs (built in around 1650 and around 1750), a clavichord (1770), the Silbermann spinet (c. 1760) and the harpsichord (1705, copy). In the half-timbered building, built in 1456, residential rooms (bedroom, living room, kitchen) furnished with original furniture illustrate what life was like in the time of Bach. This is where we can see the puzzling “Bach Goblet” and Bachʼs meticulously reconstructed “theological library”. In the adjoining new building, valuable exhibits, multimedia art works and individual listening facilities come together to create an exciting representation of Bachʼs music. There is also a childrenʼs corner with a tricky organ puzzle.
The exhibition in the Bachhaus, which was designed by Atelier Brückner (Stuttgart), has won several awards: the ADC (Art Directors' Club) Bronze Award 2008, the World Media Festival Finalists’ Diploma in 2008 and the Special Award for Scenography of the BDIA (Federation of German Interior Designers) in 2008.
Continue to Photo gallery. In addition to the exhibition, the Museum also has an Instrument Collection, a Library and Archive and a music hire service.
In the historical part of the museum all furniture is from the 17th century, from the time of Bach's birth at Eisenach. Photo: Ulrich Kneise; photo at top: André Nestler.