Bad Homburg v. d. Höhe. What was once scattered across the globe through inheritance and political upheavals is now returning to Bad Homburg: precious portraits, mementos, furniture, porcelain, silver, and glassware from the history of the Landgrave House of Hesse-Homburg. Over the decades, Eric, Claudia, and Theresa Leonhardt have gathered these artifacts, creating an extraordinary private collection. But now, for the first time, the collection is being presented to the public in its entirety—at the Museum Gotisches Haus, a historic site itself closely linked to the House of Hesse-Homburg. In doing so, the family is bringing a piece of Hesse-Homburg’s history back to its historic home.
“The Leonhardt Collection is of particular significance to Bad Homburg in many ways. It brings precious artifacts from our city’s and region’s history back to their historic home while also impressively highlighting the European connections of the House of Hesse-Homburg. The fact that these extraordinary pieces can now be displayed together for the first time in their unique, almost home-like atmosphere is a great asset to our museum and to everyone interested in the history and culture of our city,” said Mayor Alexander Hetjes.
The exhibition will be on view at the Museum Gotisches Haus for four years, through January 2030. Since not all of the collected objects can be displayed at the same time due to their sheer number, the exhibition will be rearranged periodically throughout its run. Over time, individual rooms will be redesigned and filled with additional, previously unseen works from the Leonhardt Collection. This means that visitors will always have something new to discover, even on repeat visits.
In addition, smaller thematic displays will be created in the individual rooms, consistently drawing connections to the museum’s own collection. In this way, the Leonhardt Collection enters into a dynamic dialogue with the holdings of the Gothic House and, throughout the entire duration of the exhibition, opens up new perspectives on the history of Bad Homburg and the Landgrave House of Hesse-Homburg.
Collecting is a tradition in the Leonhardt family
For Eric, Claudia, and Theresa Leonhardt, collecting is more than a hobby—it’s a way of life. Over the decades, they have jointly built up an
extraordinary private collection on the history of Hesse-Homburg as well as on the art and cultural history of the 18th and 19th centuries. Numerous objects from their collection have already been on view as loans in exhibitions—such as in “Homburger Pracht” at the Museum Gotisches Haus or in “Princess Eliza: English Influences on Hesse-Homburg” at the palace. Now, for the first time, the entire collection is being presented to the public at the Museum Gotisches Haus.
Paintings, miniatures, and prints; silver, porcelain, and glass crafts; as well as furniture by prominent 18th-century European cabinetmakers tell the story of Hesse-Homburg’s relationships with the European courts and royal houses of its time. A special focus is on Homburg-related items chronicling the history of the Landgrave House of Hesse-Homburg, particularly Landgrave Friedrich VI Joseph, his wife, the English Princess Elizabeth, and his sister, Princess Marianne.
Over the course of decades, the Leonhardt family succeeded in bringing back to Bad Homburg numerous works of art and mementos that had been scattered across the globe in the 19th century as a result of inheritance and political upheavals. The collection thus not only preserves precious testimonies to times past but also brings a piece of the history of the House of Hesse-Homburg and its European connections back into view in Bad Homburg.
The collection is complemented by objects from the early 20th century. They commemorate Jean Emil Leonhardt, who founded the REX Canned Goods Company in Homburg and, with the construction of the first warehouse in the industrial zone, provided important impetus for the city’s nascent industrialization. Thus, the exhibition spans a timeframe from the 18th-century royal residence to Homburg’s transformation into a spa and industrial city.
A Private Collection Becomes an Exhibition
The exhibition also conveys the collection’s unique character. Its presentation is modeled after the collection’s former arrangement in the Leonhardt family’s living quarters. Paintings, furniture, and decorative arts are closely intertwined. The deliberately homey presentation breaks with familiar museum viewing conventions and allows visitors to experience the collection in an atmosphere that closely resembles its original setting.
The exhibition’s four-year duration and the rotating display of individual objects allow for a unique way of engaging with the collection. Since not all works can be shown at the same time, additional pieces from the Leonhardt family’s extensive collection will be introduced into the exhibition spaces over the course of the exhibition. As a result, individual rooms will take on new focal points over the years, each telling a different story.
facets of the collection’s history.
The history of Hesse-Homburg unfolds across four thematic sections: Portraits of the landgrave’s family and artfully cut commemorative glasses serve as an introduction to the 18th-century residence. Views of Homburg and Meisenheim tell the story of the landgraviate and its historical transformations. Another section is dedicated to Princess Elizabeth, Landgrave Friedrich VI Joseph, and Princess Marianne, as well as their diverse European connections. The exhibition concludes with evidence of Homburg’s transformation into a spa and industrial city. Romantic reflections on the city’s medieval and Prussian history complement this overview of its development.
The smaller thematic displays in the individual rooms also highlight selected aspects and relate them to objects and themes from the museum’s own collection. In this way, the exhibition is not a static presentation but continues to evolve throughout its entire run.
A Dialogue Between Two Collections
The Leonhardt Collection also marks the beginning of a special dialogue with the exhibition venue and its own historical collection. The Gothic House, whose construction began in 1823, traces its origins to Friedrich VI Joseph and his wife Elizabeth. Both are also central figures in the museum’s own collection, the foundations of which were laid by the Balmer sisters, who were deeply connected to the Landgrave House of Hesse-Homburg.
Thus, in the Gothic House, the history of the site and its former patrons intersects with an extraordinary private collection and its aesthetically and historically significant artifacts. What has been collected, preserved, and brought back to Bad Homburg from all over the world over generations is thereby placed in a new context.
The dialogue between the Leonhardt Collection and the museum’s holdings will take on ever-changing forms throughout the entire four-year exhibition period. Through the exchange of exhibited works and thematic presentations, shifting connections emerge between objects from the private collection and the Gothic House’s own collection.
In this way, the past is not merely documented, but brought into the immediate
A new way to experience these objects. What was once scattered across generations is now reunited in Bad Homburg—and at the same time tells a story that extends far beyond the borders of the former Landgraviate.
