At first glance, Johannisburg Palace seems like any other palace, with its magnificent architecture and rooms full of classic paintings and nicely restored royal apartments. But somewhere in between all this, you’ll find the world’s largest collection of cork models of ruins and buildings from Ancient Rome.
The collection was started by the last electoral bishop of Mainz, Carl Theodor von Dalberg, and from 1814 was continued by Crown Prince Ludwig after Aschaffenburg became part of the Kingdom of Bavaria. The 54 cork miniatures that make up the collection were created between 1792 and 1854, mostly by Carl May, the court’s pastry cook who also had a knack for making architectural pieces in sugar, and his son, Georg.
Cork is perfect for imitating the old stone surfaces of these buildings. Some of the models also use small stones to make them even more realistic.
You can see 45 of the miniature buildings on display in the museum. Go spot the Colosseum (that one is really hard to miss, it is big), the Pantheon, several triumphal arches, and even a couple of pyramids.
