Werner Egk Meeting Place

Welcome to the Werner Egk Meeting Place

Bilder: Stefan Sisulak

In 1982, Donauwörth opened the Werner-Egk-Meeting-Place to commemorate the composer and son of our town, Werner Egk (1901 – 1983). The meeting place is a very special museum for lovers of classic music. In 1993, the museum moved into the former Capucin monastery in the Pflegstraße, together with the Käthe-Kruse-Doll-Museum.

The composer was born in Auchsesheim in 1901 and given the name Werner Joseph Mayer. As a composer, he wrote numerous operas, ballets and concerts: Die Zaubergeige (The Magic Violin), Peer Gynt and Abraxas, are some of his best known works. They were and are shown in the theatres of Europe and world wide. In 1971, Werner Egk returned to his hometown.

Donauwörth’s former mayor Dr. Alfred Böswald said about Werner Egk: Although e is a world citizen, he is at home in Donauwörth. Werner Egk dedicated five pieces for wind quintet and his string quartet Die Nachtigall (The Nightingale), written in 1982, to the town of Donauwörth and promised his bequest to the town.

At the Werner-Egk-Meeting-Place visitors can see his grand piano, pieces of personal memorabilia, books, scores, documents, manuscripts, stage models and much more. An audio station plays 18 hours of Werner-Egk compositions.

The Werner-Egk-Meeting-Place also recognizes the work of the awardees of the town’s Werner-Egk-Cultural-Award. Since 1973, distinguished personalities of the contemporary cultural and intellectual history are awarded with this award.