Die Modellsammlungen Heiliger Stätten

The model collections of sacred sites from the period 1696 to 1732 in the Thurn und Taxis Central Archives – studies on their history, function and design

• Pchaiek, Christina
• Wilhelm Imkamp/Peter Styra (Ed.): Thurn und Taxis Studies – New Series, Volume 6
• Verlag Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg 2017
• Length: 472 p., incl. 64 pages of coloured pictures, hard cover

Portrait of the author: Christina Pchaiek, Dr. phil., born 1984, studied art history and classical archaeology at the University of Regensburg and earned her doctorate in art history.

Architectural models of sacred sites illustrate the architecture of current and former buildings in the Holy Land. They were created as commemorative models. Accurate in their architectural design, they were also decorated with lavish mother-of-pearl and ivory elements. The Prince Thurn und Taxis Central Archive owns a unique collection of 24 models of holy sites. Although other collections contain individual models as well, the quality and quantity of this set is currently unique. The study examines this special category of architectural models, focusing on the Princely collection and its cataloguing. It is the first time that the collection has been appraised from the perspective of history and art history. Questions about the origin of these models, their initiator and the production techniques and models are discussed along with issues of their purpose and use.