The Flair of the Epoch

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I. A Yearning for the Epoch

From Jane Austen to Bridgerton

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II. The Fascination of the Times

Romance & Etiquette of the Empire

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III. The Tradition of the Ball

Upon Princely Paths since 2012

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IV. Musical Masterpieces

The Virtuosos of Our Society

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V. Of Dancing Angels & Pillars

A Deeply Personal Expression of Gratitude

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VI. Fürth: Our Stage

Architecture & English Landscape Gardening

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It is an undeniable truth that the witty and supremely refined world of Jane Austen has captivated the hearts of countless admirers for decades. Ever since the colorful rise of the Bridgerton chronicles, this fascination has well and truly arrived in contemporary society. Festivities springing up everywhere since have sought to exude the incomparable flair of locations such as Bath, Lucca, or indeed Eichstätt, enabling us all to sweetly immerse ourselves and lose ourselves within the Regency era.

Yet what precisely constitutes the Regency and the Empire? Why is this epoch so irresistibly fascinating precisely in our present day? Perhaps we recognize ourselves within those fateful figures against the dramatic backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars.

Or is it rather a secret longing for the sustaining strictness of the etiquette of those times? In a fast-paced age, we may miss the stylishly restrained courtship, the subtle, unspoken play of glances, and that early romantic languishing which imparts to this gallant epoch its immortal soul.

Our own Jane Austen Ball looks back with pride upon a long and supremely illustrious tradition, the celebratory prelude of which took place as early as 2012. Commencing in Nuremberg, the path led via the cultivated halls of Erlangen and Ansbach finally to Eichstätt. There, amidst a truly dazzling setting, we walked in the footsteps of the Dukes of Leuchtenberg. It was this very residence that once served a Bavarian princess and the stepson of Napoleon – the deposed Viceroys of Italy – as a magnificent refuge and new home. A more dignified setting for a historical ball can scarcely be conceived.

That this endeavor was permitted to grow to such grandeur and grace we owe not least to the early, formative collaboration with the Pemberley Players from Liverpool. It is my great honor that we are still permitted to dance to the wonderful reconstructions and musical scores of their director, David Williams.

And how thoroughly charming it is that this heritage is now continued through the collaboration with the delightful Pemberley Ensemble under the direction of the talented Vroni Schnattinger, which has allowed us to glide across the parquet in Eichstätt with spirited virtuosity for the past three years.

There were days when I almost feared the demise of this grand ball. Yet how charmingly and warmly we were received in Eichstätt! This tireless continuation I owe from the very beginning to the energetic support of my student assistants, my true "dancing angels".

My deepest and most far-reaching gratitude, however, is due to my dear wife Tanja. Ever since our wedding – solemnized during the deprived times of the corona turmoil – she has supported me more than merely energetically and endures the tumults of my creative drive with admirable equanimity. Without her, this magnificent work would scarcely be conceivable.

Now we turn our gaze toward our hometown of Fürth, which provides us with such outstanding premises for our workshops in the tradition-steeped Old Gauging Office (Altes Eichamt) and the venerable Helm Hall (Helmhalle) of the Schliemann Gymnasium. In 1806, with the fall of the Free Imperial City of Nuremberg, Fürth emerged from the shadows of history and definitively revealed its modern economic prominence with the first German railway line between Nuremberg and Fürth.

Anyone strolling through the city center today and promenading through the English landscape garden of the expansive City Park senses immediately that this is the perfect architectural and natural setting to revive the elegance of bygone eras once more.