Early Gaelic Harp Info: the Hofburg harp

Trinity College, Queen Mary, Lamont, Ballinderry, Cloyne, Otway, O'Fogarty, Kildare, Sirr, Mullagh Mast, Rose Mooney, O'Neill, Downhill, Bunworth, Hollybrook, Malahide 1, Malahide 2, Clonalis, Others, Foreign

Foreign harps

Wartburg, Rome, Nuremberg, Leipzig, Hofburg, Bologna 2, Estense, NMM, Kaiser, Barberini, Bologna 3, Evans, Boston, Sondershausen, Eisenach, Augsburg, Rabe

The Hofburg harp

Not to scale

Also known as the Vienna harp

Dating from perhaps the 16th century

Kept at the Hofburg Museum, Vienna.

"Gothic" design;
approx. 29 strings

This instrument has buzzing bray pins on each of its strings to make a nasal, growling tone. It has a slightly more baroque shape than other gothic harps.

Photo at acoustics.org

German harpmaker Claus Hüttel offers a replica of this instrument.

Simon Chadwick