1: WELCOME
Welcome to a virtual tour through the Neues Museum Schloss Sayn.
We offer guests a free guided tour in four languages: German, English, French and Italian. The text is spoken by Stephanie Paatsch from 2friendly (German), our sons-in-law Archie Akhavan-Kharazian (English) and Count Stefano Hunyady (French) as well as our daughter-in-law Princess Priscilla (Italian). In addition, you hear inserts spoken by us and by our daughters, the Princesses Alexandra and Sofia, and by our grandchildren Prince Ludovico and Countess Elisabetta Hunyady.
You may scan the QR codes throughout the exhibition, and receive audios, images, videos and texts that you can read.
We have come up with a motto for children and adults who are young at heart when they visit us: “Imagination is our hobby.” And so, the young and old guests can slip into the magical costumes of the fashion designer Natascha Klein, which they find at the museum shop. When finely decorated with crowns, capes and chic uniforms, the souvenir photo on the “throne” is a very special experience.
You can also experience a lot with our cheerful poodle Disco. Nobody can talk him out of the fact that, despite his puffy mane, he is not the real Lion of Sayn. He sits enthroned in his little velvet basket and waits to lead the visitors through the palace rooms with his funny stories. He is accompanied by his best friend “Sugar”, the little Jack Russel terrier of Prince Alexander.”
We look forward to welcoming you and wish you an unforgettable stay.
Cordially yours
Alexander and Gabriela Sayn-Wittgenstein
Right at the beginning, Princess Marianne welcomes you looking down from a large photo. The 104-year-old lady is the mother of the present owner of this palace, Prince Alexander, married to Princess Gabriela.
Passing the cloakroom, you will spot Emperor Wilhelm’s quote when he proclaimed after visiting Sayn Palace: “It truly is a fairy-tale castle”. Further on, you will find portraits of our two “Grandes Dames”, the main actors of this exhibition: Princess Leonilla and Princess Marianne. “My great-great-grandmother Leonilla lived almost 102 years, from 1816 to 1918. My mother’s life began immediately afterwards. Born in 1919 and still quite active, she has already surpassed Leonilla’s biblical age.”
In this exhibition, the two princesses will tell you the story of their lives lived in the past two centuries – from victorious battles over Napoleon in Russia that gave their family immense wealth and prestige, to social upheaval that forced their return to the ancestral home in Sayn. And also from their experiences in both world wars causing destruction, privation and reconstruction to a very active social life to the present day.