The Beethovenhaus Baden, a new addition to the museums in the Museumsguide inclusive, launched an inclusion project on the topic of deafness in April, which will continue through the summer. The connection to Beethoven's deafness is obvious. Visitors can thus have completely new experiences.
Ludwig van Beethoven spent many summers in Baden, from 1821 to 1823 in the house at Rathausgasse 10 – today's Beethovenhaus Baden. By this time, he was already completely deaf and could only communicate with his counterparts using conversation books. Nevertheless, he still composed important pieces of music during these years, including the 9th Symphony.
Therefore, since April 2025, the Beethovenhaus Baden has dedicated a special focus to the topic of deafness. This project was inspired by the visit of the White Hands Chorus, an inclusive choir with hearing and deaf musicians from Japan, in February of last year. The visit to the Beethovenhaus Baden was very emotional for everyone, especially the experiences in the hearing lab: some choir members were able to feel the sounds of the Ninth through the "bone telephone" as they had never experienced them before.
The programs within the new inclusion focus are aimed at both deaf and hearing people. This is intended, on the one hand, to provide deaf people with greater access to culture and education. On the other hand, it aims to raise awareness of deafness and promote appropriate interaction with deaf people.
In addition to special guided tours with sign language interpreters in cooperation with the WITAF association, a video guide in sign language developed by Hearonymus is now available for free download.
copyright City of Baden
Special tours on the topic are offered for school classes. Based on the students' individual experiences, the question of what it means to be deaf is explored in a dialogue-oriented and participatory manner.
"An exciting project that, given Beethoven's deafness, is particularly well-suited to the Beethoven House. It opens the door to a new world in which we can all learn a great deal!" says Ulrike Scholda, director of the Beethoven House.
Further information and dates can be found on the events page of the Website announced.