Erbach Castle (Schloss Erbach) in the Odenwald is one of the most outstanding monuments in the German State of Hesse and is listed in the “Register of nationally valuable cultural assets” of the Federal Republic of Germany as particularly worthy of protection. The relationship between the collections of art objects, artifacts and natural objects and the specially designed living quarters and display rooms as well as the comprehensive inventory catalogues is unique. In the rooms of the palace, as in hardly any other place, the collecting idea of the Enlightenment becomes tangible. On the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the death of Count Franz I zu Erbach-Erbach (1754-1823), an interdisciplinary conference of the State Palaces and Gardens of Hesse (SG) is dedicated to this total work of art and its creator.
Count Franz I zu Erbach-Erbach (1754-1823)
On 10 and 11 October 2023, experts from various disciplines will deal with the biography of Count Franz I zu Erbach-Erbach, the building history of the castle, the – so far only partially researched – collection holdings as well as the program of the rooms and discuss appropriate methods for the scientific exploration of these complex topics. Among the speakers are external and internationally renowned experts as well as colleagues from different fields of the State Palaces and Gardens Hesse (Staatliche Schlösser und Gärten Hessen). The conference includes two lectures about the castle’s Hall of Orange (Almut Pollmer-Schmidt, Landesmuseum Württemberg – Die Oraniergalerie der Grafen zu Erbach-Erbach; Katharina Bechler, Staatliche Schlösser und Gärten Hessen – Das familienpolitische Programm des Oraniersaals in Schloss Erbach im Kontext mit Oranierschlössern in den Niederlanden und Deutschland).
The Hessische Schlösserverwaltung is organizing the conference with the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (Department of Art History), the Rudolstädter Arbeitskreis zur Residenzkultur e.V. and the Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte München. The conference is sponsored by the Hessische Kulturstiftung, the Merck’sche Gesellschaft für Kunst und Wissenschaft e.V. and the district town of Erbach im Odenwald.
The conference will be held in Erbach but can also be attended online. All lectures will be in German. For the program, tickets and more information see this website.
Proceedings
The proceedings of this conference have been published in june 2025.
The publication does not only focus on Count Franz I of Erbach-Erbach (1754-1823) himself, but also on the castle, with its unique unity of art treasures, the collection and living spaces designed for them, and the catalogs specially created for this purpose. The book covers a wide range of topics, from the building’s history, the biography of Count Franz, and the genesis of the collection, to specific groups of items like the ancient vase collection and Egyptian artifacts. It also delves into the Einhard Sarcophagus, the Knight’s Hall, East Asian porcelain, ivory carvings, and the court artist and restorer Johann Wilhelm Wendt.
Furthermore, the publications offers insights into the collecting activities of his grandson, Count Eberhard zu Erbach-Erbach (1818-1884), who, among other things, furnished the ‘Orange Hall’ (Oraniersaal).
Kosmos Schloss Erbach. Sammeln als fürstliche Passion
Edited by: State Palaces and Gardens of Hesse, Katharina Bechler, Anja Kalinowski,
Matthias Müller, Kirsten Worms, with the assistance of Thomas Aufleger
436 pages, 269 illustrations
Nünnerich-Asmus Verlag & Media GmbH
ISBN: 978-3-96176-304-7
Price: € 30.00 (Germany)