Who we are

We care for a special place 
Schloss Eggenberg is not just a house, it is a place where the history of this country was written. We want this place to live on. That is why we protect gardens, buildings and the precious collections they house. We try to preserve them as unaltered as possible for future generations. Only then can they continue to tell their story.

All this carries a great responsibility - not only for this house, but also for the history that lives in it. 

We tell history 
Our collections preserve testimonies from many centuries and many lifeworlds. They reflect events of world significance as well as the hardships of everyday life, great world theatre as well as fleeting trivia. We keep this history alive by constantly researching and opening up new sources.

That is why we welcome people and make encounters possible. We want to inspire, excite and arouse curiosity. We want to help people see, understand and form their personal opinions.

The things we care for - whether tangible or intangible - are vulnerable. Therefore, we believe in some basic principles. 

Responsible care 
We live for the future, not just the past. Our job is to give the collections entrusted to us a future as significant as their past. That's why we strive to maintain them to the standards they deserve: namely, the best. 

Openness 
History is not a fixed fact; it must always be rediscovered, considered and discussed. We try to provide a suitable platform for this. 

Discover and recognise  
We strive to provide our guests with a lot of content, but we even prefer to encourage them to have their own experiences, to discover things that are essential to them personally.

Joy 
We are aware of what a privilege it is to be able to dedicate our activities to the country's most precious cultural heritage. That is why we want to share our joy in this work with as many people as possible. 

Equality 
Culture and nature are still in a particularly happy union in this place. We try to preserve this harmony and treat both as equals, protecting artefacts as well as plants, animals and habitats. 

With each other 
We are aware that we are working on behalf of society, preserving these buildings and collections for others. That is why we are constantly working to make them accessible and accessible in the best possible way for everyone. In dialogue with our guests, we are constantly working on ways to offer a wide range of exhibitions and programmes for different interests, demands and approaches.

Climate change also poses new challenges for the preservation of Eggenberg Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Extreme weather events, periods of drought and rising temperatures threaten not only the palace park with its historic tree population, but also the palace grounds and their irreplaceable original interiors.

The establishment of a contemporary tree management in combination with the concept development for the sustainable handling of drinking, industrial and meteoric water at the museum site are the subject of our work. The aim is to preserve the park landscape with its valuable historical tree population as a garden monument on the one hand and as an important urban green and recreational space on the other. The vehicle fleet and work equipment are gradually being converted to electric operation.
The energy-intensive air-conditioning of the exhibition and depot rooms must also be rethought and redesigned in order to conserve resources. Due to its high energy storage capacity and buffer properties, the historical building fabric of the castle offers great potential for a passive air conditioning concept in museum operations. Sustainable and biological building materials are an integral part of the preservation and restoration of historical buildings and have therefore been used in Eggenberg for decades.

The combination of art, culture and nature is a central aspect of our programme. Climate change and monument protection, preservation of biodiversity and the precious plant population therefore also form an essential part of our educational and publication activities.