Holiday Home + private Art Museum/Eltville.

„Ulla, can you please find a prison door for my tower?“ Yeah, sure, no problem. 

For more than 4 years we accompanied the restoration of the 14th century Sülzturm in Eltville. And over this time we learned to love the tower with its infinite number of steps. 

Today the tower houses a private museum for modern video and installation art and also presents the works of the expressionist poet Gottfried Benn. On the top floor there is a 1-room holiday apartment with a 360-degree view of the Rhine and the vineyards. Previously the tower was used as a prison, a city archive, a shelter for the homeless and then it slowly decayed. 

The new tower lord’s wish list was not always easy to fulfil, starting with the historic prison door for the lowest, vaulted room, through seating in the tiny exhibition rooms or presentation furniture for smaller exhibits. 

The most fun was the unrestrained mix of styles that we were allowed to bring into the tower. Starting with an archaic goldsmith’s table combined with stools out of an operating room, a modern green velvet sofa facing a lobby chair and a wooden desk chair from Rockhausen or the singer stools serving as bedside tables. 

Furniture bigger than a stool we had to completely disassemble, number all individual parts and then reassemble it on the respective floor it was meant for – because the spiral staircases in the tower are not wider than 70 cm. As you can see: Each job is different – but each job is great.

Photos: Stefan Trocha/stefantrocha_photography