Richard Wagner chose the country manor in Tribschen on Lake Lucerne as his residence for six years. In April 1866, the composer moved into the empty house and filled it with life. He lived on this grand estate, which is surrounded by a park and located directly on the lakeside, with his second wife Cosima and their children. At times the house was also the meeting point for very prominent figures, such as Franz Liszt, Friedrich Nietzsche, Gottfried Semper and King Ludwig II of Bavaria, who were some of the composer's closest friends.

In 1872 Wagner left what he called the "idyll in Tribschen" in order to put the plans for his own festival theater in Bayreuth into effect.

Today, the building houses a collection of memorabilia from Richard Wagner and his stay in Tribschen; it is exhibited on the ground floor of his former residence.