Pfaelzer Hof

The town of Idar-Oberstein has a fascinating history as an industrial centre for the gem stone and jewellery trade, a tradition that continues today. The town has contrasting elements between wealth and urban decay, giving it a certain edge, which some have compared to Berlin before the wall came down.
The Pfaelzer Hof is an artist-led town and cultural development project in the Rhineland-Palatine region of Germany. Artist Eila Goldhahn acquired the former hotel in 2010 and renovated it to create artists apartments, studios together with a project and exhibition space and an outdoor experimental woodland area.

The Pfaelzer Hof provides artists with spacious accommodation in one of its three apartments and the house has a lovely outdoor terrace, which residents share. The house has stunning views of the town, castle and surrounding woodland. The apartments have many large windows and excellent natural light. The station, shops and cafes are all in walking distance nearby.

Every apartment has facilities for desk or easel based work. In addition there is a large project and exhibition space on the ground floor. This space can be accessed 24/7 and can be shuttered to be private or instead be visible from the street by passers-by who can witness work in progress or exhibited artwork. We have good connections to other other local galeries and the Hochschule Trier where visiting artists are frequently invited to speak about their work to students and staff. Further, for those interested in working with stones and metal, access to specialist workshop facilities can be facilitated at no extra cost.

Idar-Oberstein

Our mission is and we aexpect visiting artists to share these values :
•To provide a professional setting and supporting environment for artists and writers to develop their work to the highest possible standard.
•To offer a unique cultural and regional setting, open to artists from any background and country to enhance and enrich their experience and artistic vocabulary that feeds their curiosity, imagination and reflective skills.
•To develop our own skills as curators and artists and to understand the changing and contemporary needs in a fast-changing environment.
•To always communicate clearly and honestly with those that we connect with and to adhere to high ethical standards of transparency and confidentiality, respecting artists' ideas, work and copyright.

To apply for a residency, please submit a CV, covering letter, images or examples of your work and indicate your preferred duration of stay. Residencies can range from 1 to 6 months between April and October. Please email us on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. We accept applications throughout the year. In your application please state whether you are looking for a solitary retreat or whether you are looking to have dialogue with other writers or artists, or whether you'd like a mentor for your (academic) writing in the arts.