Display Rooms and Grimm Exhibition

The Counts of Hanau-Münzenberg had the interiors of the palace magnificently decorated. The high-quality wall paintings with Renaissance ornaments and antique portrait medallions adorned the halls and flats. A vivid insight into the reconstructed palace furnishings is provided by the Hofstube with its portraits of the nobility from the 16th century. The adjacent castle kitchen is furnished with replicas of various food dummies as well as cooking utensils from the 19th century; it brings to life the everyday life of the palace inhabitants from earlier centuries.

The exhibition Roots and Wings – The Brothers Grimm and Steinau, which opens in June 2025, focuses on the Grimm family as a social network and intellectual foundation for the work of the world-famous brothers. The presentation spans from the Grimms’ childhood in Steinau through their academic years to their final stages of life in Berlin.

For the first time, a section of the exhibition is explicitly dedicated to the women of the family: Lotte, Dortchen, Malchen, and others are honored for their roles in the “Grimm family enterprise.” At the same time, the exhibition highlights the limited opportunities for female self-realization in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The well-known oil painting Lotte’s Room by Ludwig Emil Grimm from 1821 is presented alongside previously unexplored works.

Additional historical objects such as Jacob Grimm’s inkwell and original drawings by Ludwig Emil Grimm vividly demonstrate the family’s creative energy. Children can immerse themselves in the world of fairy tales with the help of the character “Kater Gravus,” while adults can look forward to contexts that are relevant both art-historically and socially.

The architectural history exhibition Architecture in Transition – The History of Steinau Castle highlights the castle as a testimony of the Early Modern period. Originally begun as a medieval fortress, it was expanded into a Renaissance castle featuring a representative kitchen and suite of living rooms. Through historical castle plans, original window frames, stair towers, and defensive structures, visitors can experience the transformation of an important seat of power architecture. The exhibition also illustrates the castle’s social functions as accommodation for travelers, a widow’s residence, and an administrative building.