Schloss Erbach

About the museum

The palace goes back to a medieval moated castle of the Schenken (cupbearers) of Erbach; the keep, built around 1200, still dominates the townscape today. In the early 16th century the castle was converted into a Renaissance palace, and from 1736 Count Georg Wilhelm zu Erbach-Erbach had the Baroque main building erected. The building received its neo-Baroque facade in 1902.

The collections go back mainly to Count Franz I zu Erbach-Erbach (1754–1823). After extensive educational journeys, he bought most of his antiquities in Italy in 1791 and had his court artist Johann Wilhelm Wendt furnish three rooms modeled on Roman examples; he described their contents in his own catalogs. He also added arms and armor, which are displayed in the neo-Gothic Knights' Hall built around 1805, stained glass and a large collection of stag antlers. His grandson Eberhard XV added furniture and religious art.

In 2005 the state of Hesse acquired most of the collections and shares in the palace; since then the Staatliche Schlösser und Gärten Hessen (Hessian state palaces and gardens administration) has looked after the site. The largely unaltered display rooms are considered a rare example of a collection from the Age of Enlightenment. After several years of restoration, the late Gothic Schöllenbach Altar of 1515 is once again in the Hubertus Chapel, and since 2016 the palace has also housed the Deutsches Elfenbeinmuseum (German Ivory Museum).

Highlights

• Roman Room and Audience Room with ancient busts, including Alexander the Great and Caracalla
• Neo-Gothic Knights' Hall with suits of armor (currently closed)
• Stag Gallery with an antler collection beneath a 17th-century wooden ceiling
• Portraits of the House of Orange-Nassau by painters such as Anthony van Dyck and Gerard van Honthorst
• Late Gothic Schöllenbach Altar (1515) in the Hubertus Chapel

Permanent exhibitions

• Gräfliche Sammlungen – Guided tour through Count Franz I's almost unchanged collection rooms, with antiquities, weapons, antlers, ancestral portraits and East Asian porcelain.
• Schöllenbacher Altar in der Hubertuskapelle – The late Gothic carved altarpiece of 1515, more than five meters wide, depicts the Tree of Jesse and scenes from the life of the Virgin Mary; it can be seen on a separate guided tour.

Operated by

Staatliche Schlösser und Gärten Hessen

Admission & discounts

The price applies to the Count's collections (Gräfliche Sammlungen), including the mandatory guided tour. The Deutsches Elfenbeinmuseum in the palace charges separate admission. Tickets are available in the museum shop in the palace courtyard or online through the palace administration's ticket shop.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible: not available
• Elevator: not available
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials
• Audio description: no information

The Count's collections can only be reached via an outdoor staircase with eight steps, followed inside by a historic staircase with 25 irregular steps; door thresholds up to 6 cm. The Hubertus Chapel is accessible only via a spiral staircase with seven steps. Folding stools are available for tours; no loaner wheelchairs. The Ivory Museum can be reached by stairlift and the workshop by a mobile ramp (please notify the ticket desk in each case). Accessible restroom; accessible parking spaces on Neue Lustgartenstraße and at the Marktplatz. No audio system for people with hearing impairments, no visual alarm, no tactile guidance system. Assistance dogs need paw protectors in some rooms.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Stroller-friendly: not available
• Kids’ birthday parties

Adventure tours and workshops for children from about 4 years of age (e.g., palace ghost Luidschi, knight workshop, evening family tour "Nachts im Schloss" (At Night in the Palace)); registration required; all programs can also be booked as a children's birthday party. Free children's audio guide (Museumslauscher) and children's audio tour in the Kulturschätze app. According to the visitor rules, strollers are not allowed in the interior rooms.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

Museum shop with ticket desk, specialist books, and gift items in the palace courtyard.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Weddings / ceremonies

Up to 30 guests.

Civil weddings in the Knights' Hall through the Erbach registry office (up to 30 seats, room rental €300 plus registry office fees); currently not possible due to ongoing renovation work.

Plan your visit