These Mozart fun facts will blow your mind!

You think you know everything about Mozart? Let us blow your mind with some fun and interesting facts about the Wunderkind!

1. The truth about his name 

His full name was Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgang Theophilus Mozart. The Latin version of “Theophilus” is “Amadeus”. However, that’s how this nickname came to be. In public, he wanted to be called “Amadé”. As family members usually don’t care, they used to call him close “Wolferl”. Shall we rename our hotel from The Mozart to Wolferl now? 😉

2. Mozart was rather small

You may think of this world-famous musician as someone tall, even when sitting at his piano, right? Fun facts #2 will disappoint you with this image! Mozart was rather small, in fact, only 158 tall. Though, one centimeter taller than Napoleon. However, it’s said, that he used to be very self-conscious about his height.

3. Wolferl and his beauty ideals

His eye color is a mystery to some. In fact, he was always painted with blue eyes for one main reason: it simply counted as ideal at the time. Though, he had brown eyes, not blue at all. Sounds a little bit like ancient-photoshop, right?

4. His favorite food was sauerkraut and liver dumpling

You may think that his favorite dish was Schnitzel, huh? Well, sorry, #4 of all fun facts will tell you something different. Wolferl actually loved sauerkraut together with some fresh liver dumplings. It still counts as a more or less traditional Austrian dish. In fond of Austrian food too? We recommend St. Peter’s Restaurant or  Fuxn.

5. What? Mozart had financial problems?

Malicious gossip has it that Mozart composed while lying on a billiard table. His passion besides music was indeed hitting billiard balls. It’s said that he loved to meet up with friends and gamble regularly.  Maybe true, maybe gossip – we’ll never know.

6. Mozart would be the one still posting cat content today

He had many pets, among them a dog, a canary, a horse as well as a starling. He just loved them! Probably, he would be the one still posting animal content on social media. It’s even sad, that Mozart imitated cat noises when he was bored. In this sense: Meow!

7. There is one instrument he really hated

Isn’t that strange that this so-called music genius detested one special instrument? The flute! Even funnier when considering that he named one of his most famous operas “The Magic Flute”. He not only hated it, he even had a phobia of flutes. But why? It is said, that he could not stand the sound of this instrument. “The Magic Flute” is said to be an assignment he did not accomplish happily. By the way, this opera is also the last one he wrote.

8. He belongs to the group of “only the good die young”

Life expectancy wasn’t as it is today, that’s for sure. However, Mozart only became 35 years. And 10 years out of 35 he has been traveling. Sounds like a pretty long world trip, huh? Unfortunately not, he has only made it to several European countries. Considering a coach journey from Salzburg to Vienna already took a week, 10 years don’t sound too long, we’d say. However, 35 years were enough for the wunderkind to create masterpieces! 

Unbelievable, but by the age of 8 he published his first musical work, a violin sonata. When he was only 11 years old, he wrote “Apollo et Hyacinthus”, his first opera. It was between the ages of 8 and 19 when he created half of all the symphonies he wrote. And by the age of 15, he claimed to be able to hear whole operas in his head. He, by the way, had an absolute sense of hearing, which means he can exactly determine what musical tone he just heard. Sounds amazing, doesn’t it?

Mozart might act as a magnet to many visitors, however, he truly left essential footmarks to the Salzburg. What’s left is amazing sights and unique city vibes that no other city has. We’re proud to be based in Salzburg as we just love it too much! What a good opportunity to learn more about Salzburg Highlights, right?