Collections of the German Archive of Culinary Arts

The German Archive of Culinary Arts contains over a dozen collections and estates of renowned chefs, collectors, and food critics. We present these collections here in alphabetical order.

  • [Übersetzung ins Englische:]
    Birsner Collection

    Birsner Collection

    With the estate of the renowned chef Ernst Birsner (1935–2015), you will find one of the most extensive and valuable private culinary collections in the German-speaking world at the SLUB Dresden. It comprises an estimated total of 50,000 objects, including about 40,000 menus from several centuries, approximately 11,000 books, and gastrosophical manuscripts.

  • Eiermann Collection

    Eiermann Collection

    Lothar Eiermann, chef at the gourmet restaurant of the noble Wald- & Schlosshotel Friedrichsruhe, donated speeches and correspondences from this period to the SLUB.

  • Sammlung Elvira und Dieter L. Kaufmann

    Sammlung Elvira und Dieter L. Kaufmann

    Elvira und Dieter L. Kaufmann, Inhaber des Hotel-Restaurant Zur Traube in Grevenbroich, schenkten der SLUB ihre Sammlung zur Geschichte des Sterne-Restaurants.

  • Lechner Collection

    Lechner Collection

    At the SLUB you will find, among other things, photographs and letters by the Austrian journalist Wolfgang Lechner, who was responsible for the cooking competitions and Wolfram Siebeck's column in the weekly newspaper DIE ZEIT for many years.

  • [Übersetzung ins Englische:]
    Bibliotheca gastronomica – Collection Walter Putz

    Bibliotheca gastronomica – Collection Walter Putz

    The collector Walter Putz (1924-2015) from Baden-Baden donated his extensive Bibliotheca Gastronomica to the SLUB Dresden in 2005. It contains more than 4,000 objects, including numerous books, manuscripts, graphics, printed materials and correspondences on the subject of gastronomy and food culture.

  • Schönberner Collection

    Schönberner Collection

    With the Herbert Schönberner Collection, you will find at the SLUB a variety of menus and wine lists as well as the first German 3-star chef's large, personal collection of recipes.

  • Sammlung Helmut Schwurack

    Sammlung Helmut Schwurack

    Aus einem Nachlass erhielt die SLUB Unterlagen über Helmut Schwurack, einen sächsischen Koch, der lange Jahre in der gehobenen Gastronomie tätig war.

  • Polaroid collection Siebeck

    Polaroid collection Siebeck

    For more than 15 years, Barbara Siebeck documented their life together across Europe with wit and a clear view for the weekly newspaper DIE ZEIT.

  • [Übersetzung ins Englische:]
    Wolfram Siebeck estate

    Wolfram Siebeck estate

    In 2018, the SLUB Dresden was able to acquire the estate of the publicist and food critic Wolfram Siebeck (1928–2016) with financial support from the TU Dresden. In addition to an extensive library, the collection also contains his written estate. It contains manuscripts, life documents, and correspondence as well as nearly 800 menu, food, and wine lists that Wolfram Siebeck collected during his work.

  • [Übersetzung ins Englische:]
    Eckart Witzigmann Culinary Library

    Eckart Witzigmann Culinary Library

    Prof. Dr. h.c. Eckart Witzigmann is donating his extraordinary culinary library comprising approximately 6,000 volumes to the German Culinary Archives. With this donation, the archive will receive for the first time a comprehensive collection of modern culinary works from 1970 onwards, documenting contemporary exquisite culinary art in a manner that enables fundamental analysis of the evolution of culinary aesthetics and further expansion of research.