Bertramka Villa in Prague

The first owners of the building in the Smíchov Quarter of Prague could never have imagined that one day it would be slept in by possibly the most outstanding music composer of all time, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. First they would not have even known who he was and secondly they would not have expected such an esteemed guest to stay within its walls. Today’s elegant Bertramka Villa originally used to be a modest vineyard house. Its third owner František of Bertram had it rebuilt into a magnificent mansion that appealed greatly to the opera singer Josefína Dušková and her husband František Xaver Dušek. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart visited them in this villa twice and it was here where he completed his famous opera Don Giovanni. The world premiere of this opera took place in Prague, in the Estates Theatre, which has been in operation up to this day. Today, Bertramka is a museum, which recollects this and other events from Mozart’s life.