Richard Wagner (copper plate printing after F. Hanfstaengel)
Richard Wagner (copper plate printing after F. Hanfstaengel)
Paul Richter as Siegfried in Fritz Lang's »Die Nibelungen« (1924)
Paul Richter as Siegfried in Fritz Lang's »Die Nibelungen« (1924)
Lilli Lehmann (steel engraving by Weger)
Lilli Lehmann (steel engraving by Weger)
Götterdämmerung, final scene (stage design)
Götterdämmerung, final scene (stage design)
Franz Nachbaur (undesignated heliogravure)
Franz Nachbaur (undesignated heliogravure)

The rediscovery of the Nibelungenlied’s C and A manuscripts at Hohenems Palace in 1755 and 1779, respectively, marked the starting point of its renaissance and rapid establishment as the German national epic. Eventually, Richard Wagner led the story about the dragon slayer Siegfried to worldwide fame by means of his four-part music drama Der Ring des Nibelungen. Wagner’s magnum opus stands at the centre of the small museum, which also informs about other realizations of the Nibelungen theme on the stage and in film. Special attention is paid to two artists: Lilli Lehmann, the most famous soprano of the 19th century, and Franz Nachbaur, a sought-after opera tenor from the Lake Constance region, who was Stolzing in the world premiere of Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. The building at Marktstraße 6 once housed Vorarlberg’s first printing shop, where the Emser Chronik (the first book ever printed in Vorarlberg and a famous classic of its time) was produced in 1616.

Opening hours

We are happy to open the museum year-round for groups and individuals on appointment (to be made on the previous work day, at the latest).

Admission fees

€ 7 (€ 3,50 for pupils, students and apprentices)
Ticket owners are entitled to visit all museums as often as they wish for a whole year after ticket purchase.

»Die Schubertiade kredenzt dem auf höchstes Niveau eingestellten Publikum jene im ‚Alten Europa’ zwischen 1750 und 1900 geborene Lied-Kultur, die es sonst nirgendwo zu hören bekommt.«

Frankfurter Neue Presse, Germany