Director of Wien Museum says ‘we all have to economise’ as city temporarily reduces access to cultural sites
It prides itself on its reputation as the world’s home of classical music. But Vienna will temporarily close several museums dedicated to famous composers this year as the Austrian capital cuts its culture budget to meet public spending targets.
The apartment where the Austrian composer Franz Schubert died, the residence of “Blue Danube” writer Johann Strauss, as well as the house where Joseph Haydn lived are to be closed temporarily as cost-saving measures, the director of Vienna’s museums announced on Wednesday.
The closures are part of broader austerity measures that will increase the price of public transport in the Austrian capital by almost 30% for some tickets. “We all have to economise,” said Matti Bunzl, the head of public body the Wien Museum that oversees several historical sites in the Austrian capital. “That’s the reality we live in.”
Largely thanks to the patronage of the Habsburg dynasty, Vienna rose to prominence as a European cultural capital in the baroque era and the late 19th century, hosting composers such as Mozart and Beethoven and artists including Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele.
