2003 Call for help to continue with the museumAppeal for your Help to Keep The Silent Night Museum in Salzburg open. I would like to ask everyone interested in the history of the Christmas carol Silent Night , all visitors to the Silent Night Museum at No. 9, Steingasse in Salzburg and the members of the Silent Night Joseph Mohr Association to help prevent closure of the museumThe Silent Night Museum in Salzburg was founded in 1996 and expanded in 2001 with a financial investment of € 50,000. The founder of the museum, Hanno Schilf, a German author and filmmaker, has dedicated 12 years of work to this project and has written two books about the origin of the carol Silent Night. He was particularly interested in the life story of Joseph Mohr who had until then been very much neglected from a historical point of view. The life of Franz X. Gruber, the favorite of the Salzburg Silent Night Association has been thoroughly reviewed and two Gruber Museums have been in existence for many years. Salzburg-born Joseph Mohr on the other hand, though at least as involved in composition of the worlds most famous Christmas carol, was hardly mentioned. This concentration on the life of Joseph Mohr and the fact that Schilf described the story of the creation and premiere of the song from the point of view of Joseph Mohr led to first points of friction when Schilf’s first book was published in 1993. When the discovery of a 175-year old manuscript, the only one in the hand of Joseph Mohr seemed to prove Schilf’s theory right that at least the text of the song was written as early as 1816, this friction turned into open hostility, exclusion tactics and concentrated counter-activity by some individuals. The success of the Museum in the house at No. 9, Steingasse which the city has commemorated as the birthhouse with two plaques, seemed to annoy the Franz X. Gruber fans collectively known as the Silent Night Association In 1998, the house at No. 9 Steingasse was suddenly declared not to have been the house where Joseph Mohr was born after all. No convincing evidence of an alternative birthplace was given, but it couldn’t or certainly wasn’t to be the house at No.9 any more. Mr. Schilf was officially asked to close the museum. There were plans to take down the memorial plaques outside the house, but the owners of the house refused to do so. The museum had recently been accepted onto the list of projects subsidised by the Treasury of Salzburg. The museum was now removed from this list and the offer of public funding was withdrawn. During this time, all attempts at reconciliation were rejected. It made no difference that the two museum staff employed since 2001 come from long-standing Salzburg families. Offers to reconcile the conflicting points of view concerning the origin of the song were unwanted. Nothing helped, quite the opposite. The Salzburg Tourist Board removed the Silent Night Museum from all its city guides; the financial support which had been assured by the Mayor of Salzburg, Mr Gollegger was never provided even though there is a protocol of the meeting with witnesses in which support was confirmed. Because visitor numbers have shrunk to such a minimum since the very existence of the museum is being denied, it is no longer possible to pay even the rent for the museum. Hanno Schilf can no longer afford to fund the museum himself. The amount still needed per month to keep the museum open is 1,000 euros You can help keep the museum open, either with a donation or by:
Write to: Dr. Franz Schausberger at Tel.: +43 662 8042-2209 Write to: Dr. Golleger Tel.: +43 662 8072-2470
Dear Governor Schausberger, Dear Mayor Gollegger, I am in favor of maintaining the Silent Night Museum at No. 9 Steingasse in Salzburg as a memorial for the Christmas carol and to Joseph Mohr I would like to visit this museum personally / with friends / again on my next visit to Salzburg Please do everything necessary to preserve this Silent Night Joseph Mohr Museum Thank you. Yours faithfully Name.......................................... Date Address: Sorry! We had no success, the museum is closed since 2003 |
