Palais Papius

Wilhelm Heeser von Lilienthal, procurator at the Imperial Chamber of Justice, built this mansion in 1717/1718. The assessor Johann Hermann Franz von Pape, known as Papius (1717-1793), significantly expanded the house and elaborately redecorated the interior. The results can still be seen today. In Goethe’s Götz von Berlichingen, Papius was the model for the character of Sapupi. During the second major inspection of the Imperial Court of Justice, the house was used as a residence by Prince Egon von Fürstenberg and his successor Prince Franz Gundacker von Colloredo-Mansfeld.

The property changed hands several times in the 19th century until it was finally bought by the municipality of Wetzlar in 1860, after which it served a variety of purposes. Since 1967 the building has housed the collection of Dr Irmgard von Lemmers-Danforth (1892-1984). An honorary citizen of Wetzlar, she collected domestic furnishings of the Renaissance and Baroque periods.