Mozart Festival Würzburg

Each year between May and June internationally renowned symphony orchestras perform Mozart's masterpieces in more than 60 concerts.

It is a mixture of indoor and open-air concerts in the unique atmosphere of Würzburg Residence and its court gardens.

The conductor, Hermann Zilcher, overwhelmed by the ornate stucco and lavish surroundings said "I only needed to trace a certain piece of ornamentation with my baton in the air, and that was enough for a union between sound, architecture and colour".

During the Nazi era, especially in the years 1943-1944, the festival was strongly influenced by the propaganda organisation Kraft durch Freude.

Parts of the Residence were destroyed by the bombings of Würzburg in 1945, thus the annual festival ceased for the time being.