Johannisburg Palace

Cork model collection

Johannisburg Palace has the world’s largest collection of models of ancient Roman buildings, all made out of cork. These faithful reproductions of the original architecture were made between 1792 and 1854, most of them by the then court confectioner, Carl May (1747–1822) and his son Georg May (1790–1853). Cork was shown to be the ideal material for imitating the weathered stone surfaces of the old buildings.

The collection was started by the last electoral bishop of Mainz, Carl Theodor von Dalberg (1744–1817), and from 1814, when Aschaffenburg belonged to the kingdom of Bavaria, was continued by Crown Prince Ludwig, who later became King Ludwig I (1786–1868). On display are 45 miniature buildings, which include the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Pyramid of Cestius and the triumphal arches of the emperors Titus, Septimius Severus und Constantine.