Rheinau music centre plans expansion as its future remains uncertain

The Music Island Rheinau is well used, but its foundation will decide next year whether to continue operating it, SRF reports. Founder Christoph Blocher says the planned expansion’s 36 additional beds are not enough; he would like 50.

The centre, a rehearsal and course facility for musicians in a former monastery on an island in the Rhine, opened in 2014. It has recorded about 85,000 overnight stays since then, mostly at weekends, according to its foundation. The facility includes 16 rehearsal rooms, a concert hall, 63 rooms and 133 beds.

A dispute over the monastery’s Abbot’s Wing began in 2022. Blocher’s foundation sought more hotel rooms and rehearsal space, while the Insel Museum Rheinau association wanted to establish a cultural history museum there. Blocher threatened to move the foundation if it could not expand.

After years of negotiations, the foundation, the museum association and the Canton of Zurich agreed on a compromise in 2025. The music centre will receive additional beds and rehearsal rooms in the renovated wing, while the museum is planned for the attic, with an opening scheduled for 2029.

The canton, which owns the complex, estimates that repairs and expansion will cost 25 million to 28 million Swiss francs. The cantonal parliament has yet to decide on the funding, of which 3.8 million francs is earmarked for the music centre. Blocher has contributed about 20 million francs to the foundation, which has also paid for interior work and pays rent.

Blocher described the centre as a risky but successful pioneering project and said it was well used and financially sound, while stressing the need for careful budgeting. The foundation is due to decide next year whether to continue operating it.