Feuerbachhaus

Description

In the centre of Speyer, at Allerheiligenstraße 9 and directly adjacent to the old city wall, the Feuerbachhaus serves as a central memorial to the Feuerbach family. The property includes a Baroque garden that emphasizes the house’s historical setting.

Built around 1800, the building received an addition to the front wing in 1848. In 1912 the house passed into the ownership of the city of Speyer. Decades of inadequate maintenance followed; initially, the only intervention was the affixing of a commemorative plaque in the anniversary years 1929/30. A 1967 city council resolution to demolish the building was averted through civic engagement. An association founded in 1971 secured the building permanently and established it as a memorial and museum; funding came from numerous citizens, businesses, the city of Speyer and the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. In 1987 the garden was restored to its original condition through professional landscaping.

The residence of the archaeologist Joseph Anselm Feuerbach, who lived here with his family for ten years, is also the birthplace of his son Anselm Feuerbach, the noted painter. On the ground floor there is a parlour as well as rooms for meetings, exhibitions and conferences. The upper floor displays more than 30 original paintings and drawings by the painter; these holdings are supplemented by autographs, family documents and books. A documentation presents Anselm Feuerbach’s principal works in photographic reproductions and display panels. In addition, the house maintains a research library and an archive.