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<br>The Beethoven-Haus is financed by the Beethoven-Haus association and by means of public funds. As described in its statute, the Beethoven-Haus fulfils the following purposes: collection and maintenance of manuscripts, pictures, original editions, early prints and olymp casino publications related to Beethoven and his cultural environment; promotion of the Beethoven research by means of research projects, publications, congresses; organisation of exhibitions and museum-related events, production and distribution of publications and recordings of Beethoven compositions; support of musical performances and promotion of the international collaboration with research centres and other institutions dealing with Beethoven. The neighbouring buildings (Bonngasse 18 and 24 to 26) accommodate a research centre (Beethoven archive) comprising a collection, a library and publishing house, and a chamber music hall. In 1785 the family moved to Wenzelgasse 25. Of all the residences of the Beethoven family, the only one that remains today is Beethoven’s birthplace at Bonngasse. Nowadays a diorama on the ground floor clarifies the distance and location between the city center of Bonn, the Bonner Münster, the electoral castle, the marketplace and the Bonngasse. In order to preserve spacious museum rooms, the floor plans of the main house were changed and an office for the association, plus a library and a flat for the janitor were installed.
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<br>The ground floor of the Beethovens’ flat accommodated a kitchen and a utility room with a cellar. Construction changes in Beethoven’s flat were limited to the stairs and the passageways to the front building. Johann’s father, bandmaster Ludwig van Beethoven (1712-1773), the composer’s grandfather, moved into a flat located in the house diagonally opposite. It was probably in one of the tiny attic chambers that Ludwig van Beethoven was born on 16 or 17 December 1770 and baptised in St. Remigius on 17 December 1770. The child was named after his grandfather Ludwig van Beethoven (1712-1773), a reputable court bandmaster, singer and wine merchant, who was also his godfather.
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<br>It is named after the former chairman Hermann Josef Abs, who had initiated the construction and supported it generously. Children who play an instrument meet several times a year at the chamber music hall to study and perform adaptations of Beethoven compositions. Apart from the permanent exhibition the museum offers theme-related special exhibitions several times a year. A beer and concert hall was added in the yard in 1887. In 1888 a grocery merchant bought the house but sold it a year later. The annual programme of the chamber music hall with its more or less 40 events is characterised both by tradition and modern approaches, comprising classic chamber music performed by famous ensembles and solo musicians as well as young artists at the beginning of their career.
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