The story

The Papua Museum in Gelnhausen, Germany is located in the direct vicinity of the Fürstliches Palais Meerholz. In 1989, Weiglein’s family acquired the Palais, which was in danger of decay, restored it in several years of work and rebuilt the outbuildings. Today, the more than 300-year-old cultural monument is one of the most important places for deepening cultural, social and economic relations between Germany and Indonesia, the fourth largest country in the world by population. 

The government of the largest Indonesian province, Papua, opened the official Papua Promotion House Europe on Weiglein’s estate in 2009. Finally, in 2015, the Papua Museum was opened in the presence of Mr. Anies Baswedan, then Indonesian Minister of Culture. The Papua Museum with its more than 800 exhibits from Weiglein’s collection is intended to further strengthen contacts and promote mutual understanding.

The Hotel am Palais ➚, located in the immediate vicinity, with its Kaffeehaus Indonesia, has also become a German-Indonesian meeting place over the years under the management of Claudia Weiglein.

In Papua, the Weiglein family has been running The Baliem Valley Resort ➚, an eco-lodge in the central highlands, since 2000. To this day, the resort is a key guarantor of sustainable, respectful tourism that involves the indigenous population and places great value on nature conservation. 

And the Indonesia-based travel company Papua Explorer ➚, which specializes in tours & expeditions in Papua, enables visitors from all over the world to experience the fascinating Papua New Guinea for themselves.