Temple of Pomona

The Temple of Pomona in Bad Homburg Palace Park invites visitors into the world of fruit culture. The small permanent exhibition shows historical and commercially available apple and pear varieties as lifelike replicas. The exhibition presents complex knowledge about the history of the building and the surrounding garden areas as well as about the biology, botany, culture, use and history of fruit in a compact and vivid form. On only 4 by 4 metres, more than 150 exhibits are displayed in the historic garden house of the palace park.

First mentioned in 1776, the garden house is dedicated to the Roman goddess of orchards and tree fruits: a sign of the great importance of the manorial orchard even back then. It was reconstructed in 2020 and now invites visitors to discover the historical fruit varieties.

An Apple to Suit Every Taste

Around 200 different apple and pear varieties were once grown in the palace garden. Inventories from the years 1893-1904 list their number, the respective location and the historical variety names in detail.

The lists read picturesquely: Golden Winter Pearmain, Kasseler Renette, Gravenstein, Jonathan, Champagner Reinette and Morgenduft (“Morning Scent”) are just a few of them. Today, only about 15 varieties are offered on supermarket shelves. But these are also on display: One can compare their appearance, their conditions of origin and their taste nuances with the old varieties.

The Temple of Pomona is always open to the public on Wednesdays between 1:30 and 3:30 pm from April to the end of October.