The estate of Richard and Cosima Wagner

History of the collection

After the death of Richard Wagner in 1883 and his second wife Cosima in 1930, their estates remained in the family. It was not until the days of their daughter-in-law Winifred Wagner (1897-1980) that the idea of a foundation, already favoured by her husband Siegfried Wagner (1869-1930), was taken up again and finally put into practice with the establishment of the Richard Wagner Stiftung Bayreuth (Richard Wagner Foundation Bayreuth) in 1973. The foundation’s sponsors, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Oberfrankenstiftung (Foundation of Upper Franconia) and the Bayerische Landesstiftung (Bavarian State Foundation), acquired the estate, also known as the Richard Wagner Family Archive (Richard Wagner Archive/Wahnfried Archive), from the family for 12.4 million German marks (approx. 6.34 million euros) and made it available to the Richard Wagner Foundation Bayreuth on permanent loan for the fulfilment of the foundation’s purpose, the cultivation and preservation of Richard Wagner’s artistic legacy.

The family archive includes, among other things, the estate of Richard Wagner (1813-1883), a large part of which contains personal letters from and to him, including correspondence with such illustrious correspondence partners as Franz Liszt (1811-1886), Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), King Ludwig II of Bavaria (1845-1886), Franz von Lenbach (1836-1904) or Ludwig (1836-1865) and Malvina Schnorr von Carolsfeld (1825-1904). Further collections of letters, some of them extensive, e.g. from Felix Mottl (1856-1911), Marie von Wolkenstein (1842-1912) or Prince Max von Baden (1867-1929) to Cosima Wagner (1837-1930), Siegfried Wagner and to the administration of the Bayreuth Festival provide information on the running of the festival, the casting policy after Richard Wagner’s death as well as the Wagner family’s extensive connections in the culture, society and politics of their time. Cosima Wagner’s numerous autographs bear witness to her activities as Richard Wagner’s secretary and later festival director and contain extensive correspondence, especially with her family, for example with her grandmother Maria Anna Liszt (1788-1866), her father Franz Liszt and her siblings and children.

Furthermore, the estate contains libretti, composition and orchestral sketches, as well as first and fair copies of scores that bear witness to the creation of Richard Wagner’s operas, such as "Lohengrin", "Tristan and Isolde" and "Parsifal". Manuscripts of numerous speeches, essays and writings on music theory show Richard Wagner as a writer and politically engaged man in his time.

• The object of the collection "The estate of Richard and Cosima Wagner" available on bavarikon

The part collections of the collection "The estate of Richard and Cosima Wagner" available on bavarikon

• Documents by Richard Wagner
  
• Documents by Cosima Wagner
  
• Documents relating to Franz Liszt
  
• Letters from various senders to the Wagner family and the festival administration
  
• Artistic estate of Siegfried Wagner

>> This collection is part of the holdings of the Richard Wagner Museum mit Nationalarchiv der Richard-Wagner-Stiftung Bayreuth (Richard Wagner Museum with National Archives of the Richard Wagner Foundation).