Sound of Music Story Part 2: Maria

It was in the year 1925, when Maria Augusta Kutschera (born 25.1.1905 in Vienna) first crossed the paths of the von Trapp family in Salzburg. On her way of becoming a nun, Maria got hired as a nanny for the von Trapp children. “We had lots of nursemaids. But when Maria joined our family, she really made things hum.”, Werner, one of the seven children, recalls.
With her gifted voice and guitar skills Maria also brought the music into the house and the family. She enjoyed it so much, that she changed her life-plan completely: “I just graduated as a teacher. The next step was to join the cloister”, Maria says. But things never turn out the way you expect.

A new job

Two years after Maria stepped on the scene (1927), she and baron Georg Ludwig von Trapp got married at the famous Stift Nonnberg in Salzburg. Two children, Eleonore and Rosemarie, followed. Things started to get on track, but with the financial crisis it all changed. The von Trapp family lost all its fortune due to the bankruptcy of the bank Lammer & Co. Since necessity is the mother of invention, the family had to figure out a way to survive. With no money, a hobby quickly became the source of income: singing.

Rise of a star

The success was overwhelming and soon the singing von Trapp family was world famous. With songs like “Muss i denn zum Städtele hinaus” the group entertained audiences all over the world. To ”explore god’s will” was the motto, that guided Maria through the newly acquired fame until she died on March 28th 1987. Maria was buried alongside her husband and the already deceased kids Martina, Hedwig and Rupert in the family lodge in Stowe, Vermont (U.S.A.).

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