Fanny Mendelssohn: * 14 November 1805, Hamburg – † 14 May 1847, Berlin
Felix Mendelssohn: * 3 February 1809, Hamburg – † 4 November 1847, Leipzig
The siblings Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn grew up in the early 19th century near St Michael’s Church in Hamburg, just a stone’s throw from today’s KQ. The siblings spent their early years in Hamburg before the banking family fled the occupied Hanseatic city for Berlin.
Fanny and Felix’s artistic careers took very different paths: As a composer, pianist and conductor, Fanny curated a renowned private concert series in Berlin, whilst remaining close to her family as a wife and mother.
Felix, the celebrated child prodigy, who had already gained national fame at the age of 16 through his octet and the music for ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, later toured Europe as an acclaimed conductor.
The exceptional musical talent of the Hamburg-born siblings Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn was nurtured from an early age. Nevertheless, the lives and work of Fanny Hensel and Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy cannot be separated from the special significance and influence of Jewish families on German cultural life.
The exhibition traces the Mendelssohn family’s connections with Hamburg and highlights their cultural milieu, in which not only music but also philosophy and literature played a decisive role – right up to their deaths in 1847, which occurred so close together.
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The Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn Society Hamburg e.V. is a registered, non-profit association based in Hamburg, which was founded in 2013.
Its mission is to promote the preservation of the memory of Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn, their family and their works in the fields of academia, education, art and culture.
"The Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn Society Hamburg e.V. draws attention to the significance of Jewish families in particular for German cultural and intellectual life, especially in the 19th century. The exceptional ensemble of the KQ has made it possible to create ‘Spaces for Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn’. These are conceived as a place of remembrance not for a single musical figure, but for an extraordinary sibling relationship and the musical dialogue between sister and brother. This is unique among German music memorials and has only been made possible by the KQ’s overall concept. The rooms dedicated to the Mendelssohn siblings are embedded in biographical connections to the other composers on display, particularly C.P.E. Bach on the one hand and Gustav Mahler on the other. These sometimes surprising links embody the spirit of the KQ."
Beatrix Borchard on behalf of the Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn Society Hamburg on the occasion of the KQ’s 2025 anniversary
Opening hours
Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Admission fee
€11 / concessions €8
Free admission for children under 6, €2 for children aged 7 to 12
Public holidays
Good Friday, Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Year's Eve and New Year’s Day:
CLOSED
Easter Sunday/Easter Monday, 1 May, Ascension Day, Whit Sunday/Whit Monday, 3 October, 31 October:
OPEN 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Accessibility
The KQ’s exhibition spaces are largely accessible. The historic building housing the Brahms exhibition (Peterstraße 39) requires visitors to have a sure footing (there are uneven surfaces, a steep historic staircase and no lift).
Guided tours
You can explore the museums perfectly well on your own. However, if you prefer a guided tour, we are happy to offer you various tours. Available languages: German, English, Ukrainian, Spanish, French.
The KomponistenQuartier Hamburg (Hamburg Composers' Quarter - KQ) unites six small museums dedicated to Georg Philipp Telemann, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Johann Adolf Hasse, Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn, Johannes Brahms, and Gustav Mahler. Located on the historic Peterstrasse, one of the Hanseatic city's most beautiful streets, visitors can explore their lives and works. All of them were connected to Hamburg through family, creative periods, encounters, or professional experiences.