A companion to the exhibition 2025

Ambition was considered the defining characteristic of the talented and determined first prince, Hans Ulrich von Eggenberg (1568–1634). The scion of a previously insignificant/Styrian patrician family reached the pinnacle of an incredible career in 1625 when he was made imperial governor of Inner Austria. In the same year, Hans Ulrich commissioned the construction of a new residence in Graz. 2025 marks the 400th anniversary of the start of  construction and is the occasion for an extraordinary exhibition. The palace building itself harbours a great deal of ambition. Hans Ulrich von Eggenberg had a Spanish-inspired royal palace built as a political manifesto and symbolic utopia of peace and order to express his good government. His descendants also continued to foster this illusion of a golden age, although the reality was one of hardship and decay. To this day, the palace bears witness to the fame and honour of the Eggenberg family.

The speciality of the exhibition concept lies in the combination of valuable loans and innovative media with the house and its unique interior design. Like the concept, this companion to the exhibition is also unconventional and does not conform to the usual format of an exhibition catalogue. Rather, it reflects the curatorial concept and the texts of the 23 exhibition rooms, making them accessible in printed form as well. Regardless of whether they visit this anniversary exhibition in Eggenberg, readers can follow the entire narrative, explore a particular theme inmore detail, or simply look up information about this or that exhibit. At the same time, the first volumes of an academic series will be published in 2025, presenting the current and significantly expanded state of research on Schloss Eggenberg and the Eggenberg family.

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Barbara Kaiser
Ambition & Illusion. Schloss Eggenberg: the staging of a world

359 pages