What was Beethoven’s nationality?
Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn (modern day Germany), however in his early twenties he had moved to Vienna (modern day Austria), where he lived till his death.
If we need a quick, simple answer, the best we can come up with is this: Beethoven was German. But life is more complicated than that!
Beethoven’s ancestry: partly Flemish, partly German
On his father’s side the family was from the town Mechelen, which is in the Flemish region of today Belgium. His grandfather, also named Ludwig, moved to Bonn from there.
On his mother’s side the family was from a village called Ehrenbreitstein – now part of the German city Koblenz.
Someone investigating his roots cannot leave out the possibility of a coloured Beethoven! There is evidence pointing to this to be true. More on this in our article: Was Beethoven of African ancestry?
Was Beethoven a German from Germany?
Definitely no, since in the eighteenth century there had never been a country of Germany or Austria! His birthplace, Bonn, was part of the Electorate of Cologne, whereas he died in Vienna, capital of the first Archduchy of, then, after 1804, Empire of Austria.
Both Bonn and Vienna were part of the Holy Roman Empire, which contained some three hundred, mostly small German-speaking states ruled by 250 sovereigns. Its nominal leader, the Emperor considered himself via Charlemagne the successor of his (Western) Roman predecessor. Theoretically he was the most important and powerful ruler of Western Europe – even if the reality was usually something different. His title was not hereditary. Instead, it was elected by a simple majority by the seven Electors: 3 ecclesiastical and 4 secular princes. Between 1438 and the dissolution of the Empire in 1806 the imperial throne was occupied exclusively by members of the Habsburg dynasty.
Although most people were aware and proud of being part of the Empire, they usually designated themselves as someone from their respective regions: Bavaria, Württemberg, the Rheinland instead of generally German. It required multiple generations after political unification of the German states in 1871 (which by the way did not include Austria) till the common German identity was formed and promulgated.
In summary we can say that regarding ancestry Ludwig van Beethoven was part Flemish (with strong possibility of a Moorish ancestor in the family tree), part German.
It is more difficult to state exactly what was his national identity, if he considered himself a subject, a national or citizen of the Holy Roman Empire! As far as language or culture goes, he most certainly belonged to the group identified in Europe as Germans.
