Were the Huguenots really that hard-working?
The Calvinist religious refugees from France were preceded by their reputation for being particularly capable, economically successful and prosperous. Margrave Christian Ernst hoped to use their proverbial work ethic to strengthen his principality economically. But before the desired economic boom could eventuate, the Margrave himself had to invest heavily.
The most important trade of the New Town was the manufacture of hosiery introduced by the Huguenots, an occupation that was extremely exhausting and harmful to health. Stockings were made more or less for a piece rate by countless hands using a division of labour. Hardly anyone in the industry became prosperous.
By contrast, tapestry production, which was also introduced from France during the first half of the 18th century, emerged as a flourishing enterprise for Erlangen. The wares manufactured by the de Chazaux workshop were not an everyday commodity. With great effort, precious tapestries were created that were sought after by princely courts throughout southern Germany.
Tapestry fragment with border
Wool
First half of the 18th century
This fragment shows the flower and acanthus motif ornamentation typical of the de Chazaux tapestry workshop in Erlangen. The piece, which originates from the collections of the former Margraves and Grand Dukes of Baden, was purchased by the museum in 1995, together with other fragments as well as three complete tapestries.
Knitted stockings
Cotton, green glass beads
First half of the 19th century
The stockings produced on looms or 'frames' were worked as flat pieces and had to be joined by a seam at the back – the Hugenottenferse (Huguenot heel). The hosiery industry had already been in decline in the 19th century, and was ultimately extinct by around 1910.
Hosiers' Guild Sign
Erlangen, 1719
This bottle contains an accurately reproduced miniature hosiers' stocking frame. Presumably, this 'Chamber' or Guild Sign stood in the bar of the tavern where hosiers gathered. To emphasise his pride in his craft, the hosier is shown not in his work clothes, but in formal attire. This delicate model was eingerichtet (arranged) in a glass bottle for protection, and is also known as an Eingericht (arranged interior).
Who lived in Erlangen's Palace?
In 1708, Margrave Christian Ernst elevated Erlangen to the rank of 6th 'State Capital' and a secondary residence of his Principality of Bayreuth. He had the construction of the Margravial Palace completed and the palace gardens created a few years earlier already.
Over time, Erlangen's Margravial Palace has had a range of residents. Christian Ernst liked to stay in the town he had founded, and which at that time still bore his name: Christian-Erlang.
His successors visited less frequently. However, Erlangen remained important as the long-standing widow's retreat of Margravine Sophie Caroline, second wife of university founder Friedrich. After his death in 1763, she moved into the palace with her court, received high-ranking guests there, conversed with local scholars and promoted cultural life in the city for over 50 years. After her death in 1817, the palace, gardens and other court buildings became the property of the university.
Unknown artist
Portrait of Margravine Dowager Sophie Caroline (1737–1817)
Chalk pastel
ca. 1810
It really is just a lot of hot air!
This event was much more than a lot of hot air talk! And an exciting occasion obviously worth documenting on a precious object: The first ascent of a hot air balloon in Erlangen on 30th September 1784 is recorded on a fan from the Falkeisen passementiers' workshop in Erlangen. While this was only a small model balloon without passengers – the likes of which used to be presented by fairground showmen to astonished audiences at the time – this spectacle taking place in the palace gardens was certainly a sensation.
It had been less than a year since, in Paris, people had risen into the air for the first time by means of a balloon filled with heated air. The Montgolfier brothers' invention had captivated people worldwide, and was even reflected in the fashion of the time. Balloon motifs adorned not only accessories such as fans, balloon-embroidered ball gowns were also en vogue in the rarefied world inhabited by distinguished ladies.
Ball fan with balloon motif
Silk, horn, ivory
1789
The Margrave up close and personal
Playmobil figurine of Markgrave Friedrich, the university's founderWhether Luther, Dürer, Goethe or Austrian Empress 'Sissi' – many historic personalities can be found in the Zirndorf toy manufacturer Playmobil's product range. An Erlangen margrave also joined their ranks in 2019.
Friedrich III ruled the Principality of Brandenburg-Bayreuth from 1735 until his death in 1763. Together with his first wife Wilhelmine, he was promoting the arts and sciences. Among his most important decisions is the founding of today's Friedrich-Alexander University (FAU) in Erlangen, which is named (in part) after him. This fact is honoured by the toy margrave, which Playmobil produced in limited quantities for the FAU: in his left hand, he holds the university's deed of foundation dated 4th November 1743.
However, the university wasn't put on a solid financial footing until decades later by Friedrich's successor Alexander, whose role as 'second founding father' is reflected in the FAU's twin names. Today, Erlangen's University is the third largest in Bavaria.
Playmobil figurine of Margrave Friedrich III (1711–1763)
Plastic; manufacturer: geobra Brandstätter, Zirndorf
2019
Large figurine of Margrave Friedrich
2019
on loan from Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg
This XXL version of the Playmobil figurine is used at University of Erlangen events. An even larger image of the Margrave has been standing on Erlangen's Schlossplatz (Palace Square) since 1843. The Margrave's monument, unveiled on the 100th anniversary of the founding of the university, also shows Friedrich III holding the deed of foundation.
How much was Erlangen worth to him?
A lifelong annuity of 300,000 guilders – for this amount, Margrave Alexander ceded not only Erlangen, but his entire Principalities of Ansbach and Bayreuth to his royal Prussian relatives in 1791. He then went on to live the life of a gentleman of independent means in England.
He had, nevertheless, left his territories in an orderly state. Using not entirely uncontroversial methods, he had succeeded in paying off the immense debt burden encumbering his lands. In the spirit of enlightened absolutism, he had introduced reforms to improve economic and living conditions. Religious tolerance and the abolition of torture were among them, as well as the promotion of potato cultivation, and the introduction of the lightning conductor and fire insurance.
Erlangen also benefited directly during his reign. By way of a generous donation, he ensured the survival of the university. He is therefore rightly regarded as the second founding father of the university, which has been bearing his name in addition to Friedrich's since 1769.
Unknown artist
Margrave Alexander von Ansbach-Bayreuth (1736–1806)
Oil on canvas
ca. 1760
Who planted this tree?
Friedrich Rückert, born in Schweinfurt in 1788, was an outstanding poet and scholar of his era. He conducted research into more than 40 languages and is considered the co-founder of Oriental Studies in Germany. In 1826, he was appointed professor at the University of Erlangen.
When Rückert moved away from Erlangen again in 1841, he left a personal farewell to his children Luise and Ernst, who had succumbed to scarlet fever here a few years earlier. He had a birch planted between their graves in the New Town Cemetery. Rückert had been hit hard by the deaths at the ages of three and five of his "two dearest and most beautiful children". He expressed his grief in his over 400 Kindertotenlieder (Songs on the Death of Children) poems, five of which Gustav Mahler later set to music.
In February 2016, 'Rückert's Birch' had to be severely trimmed. Only the lower trunk remained in situ, while the fragment shown here has since been in the Town Museum’s collection.
Fragment of 'Rückert's Birch' from the Neustädter Friedhof (New Town Cemetery)
planted 1841 / pruned 2016
Where do Danube and Main shake hands?
For 180 years, the Danube and Main rivers have been 'shaking hands' at the foot of Erlangen's Burgberg (Castle Hill). These two river allegories in human form are part of the giant canal monument, which was created by two important representatives of Neoclassicism, Leo von Klenze and Ludwig Schwanthaler. The Ludwig-Danube-Main-Canal was officially opened with the solemn unveiling of the monument in 1846. It resulted in the first continuous waterway between the North and Black Seas.
Soon, the monument became a popular destination for leisure outings. It was immortalised in copper engravings and on postcards, it adorned commemorative medals, pewter plates and, as seen here, a shooting target.
In 1950, the operation of the by then uneconomical waterway was discontinued. While the banks of the 'Old Canal' elsewhere still invite a leisurely stroll, in Erlangen the canal bed has been overbuilt with the Frankenschnellweg (Franconia Fast Link) motorway. The once proud canal monument now lives a life in the shadows.
Shooting target depicting the canal monument, 1843
Photo: Erich Malter
The canal monument is crowned by personifications of the river Danube (with a wreath of corn ears) and the river Main (with vines), joining hands across two urns spilling water. The female figures on either side symbolise trade (cornucopia) and shipping (rudder). The inscription on the base recalls Charlemagne's canal construction project, which the Bavarian King Ludwig I completed over 1000 years later. At the foot of the monument is a lion's head fountain.
The original of the shooting target can be seen until 9th November 2025 in the Bavarian State Exhibition 'Ludwig I – Bavaria's Greatest King?' at the House of Bavarian History in Regensburg.
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(The exhibition continues on the first floor. Please take the large wooden staircase on the right side of the foyer.)
