Sep 09, 2025
Advancing culinary research: German Archive of Culinary Arts receives significant Austrian cookbook library from Christoph Wagner
The German Archive of Culinary Arts is taking over the cookbook collection of Christoph Wagner, one of Austria's most important restaurant critics and cookbook authors. The family of the publicist, who died in 2010, is donating the collection to the archive, which was founded by the Saxon State and University Library (SLUB) Dresden and TUD Dresden University of Technology. In addition to around 3,000 books, the collection also includes menus from various countries as well as handwritten notes on research and travels, such as restaurant reviews, wine tastings, and evaluations of various products like cheese or meat.
Prof. Josef Matzerath, Chair of Modern and Contemporary History at TUD: “With the bequest of Christoph Wagner, who was editor-in-chief of Gault Millau Austria from 1984 to 1998 and, as a publicist, significantly fueled the debate on food and drink culture, the German Archive of Culinary Arts is taking over the legacy of an important food critic and gastrosophical author.” As a result, we will be able to make another cornerstone of public discourse on culinary arts in the German-speaking world available to academia, alongside the bequest of Wolfram Siebeck.
Cultural and historical perspectives on food and nutrition have long played a pivotal role in research and teaching at TUD: “The Christoph Wagner cookbook library provides an excellent foundation for our research on culinary aesthetics and exquisite cuisine from the late 18th to the 21st century,” says Andreas Rutz, Chair of History of Saxony at TUD. “It expands the holdings of the German Archive of Culinary Arts, including for Austria, which experienced a similar ‘culinary miracle’ to that of Germany with the New Viennese Cuisine in the 1970s,” emphasizes Rutz.
Katrin Stump, Director General of the SLUB Dresden, states: "With the Wagner collection, the German Archive of Culinary Arts is receiving its first comprehensive collection from Austria, which will increase its appeal in German-speaking countries. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the Wagner family for their donation and the trust they have placed in us. By taking over the collection, we are not only guaranteeing that the books and notes will be available to the public, but also that they will be preserved for scientific research.“
Christoph Wagner, editor-in-chief of Gault Millau Austria from 1984 to 1998 and co-author of the well-known Austrian cookbook Die gute Küche (Good Cooking), built up his culinary collection over a period of 45 years. The wide range of titles, stretching from Austrian farmers' cookbooks and works on the French Grande Cuisine, Italian pasta and pizza cookbooks, to Asian cuisine, reflects his broad interest in food culture. A large number of specialist books on culinary products and foods, wine, and other beverages complete the repertoire.
Renate Wagner-Wittula comments: "Fifteen years after my husband's death, it was time to part with his culinary collection and fulfill the purpose Christoph Wagner had planned for it. He always wanted the books to be used by as many interested people as possible, and it was essential to him that the collection be passed on as a whole. When we came across the German Archive of Culinary Arts in Dresden during our research, we knew exactly what needed to be done. Where better to keep all these cookbooks?
“Christoph Wagner was very interested in the latest culinary developments in other countries,” Wagner-Wittula continues. “At the same time, he was keen to pass on Austrian food culture not only in the form of recipes, but also to shed light on its cultural and historical background. Why do we eat the way we do? What stories are there behind the dishes? These were topics that fascinated him and on which he collected a great deal of literature.”
Background information
Christoph Wagner
Christoph Wagner (born May 23, 1954 in Linz; died June 17, 2010 in Vienna) was an Austrian journalist and publicist who was best known for his cookbooks. Moreover, he was an expert in the art of good eating and food critic and, from 1984 to 1998, editor-in-chief of Gault Millau Austria. In 1989, he founded the Gault Millau Magazine. After leaving Guide Gault Millau, Christoph Wagner teamed up with Klaus Egle to publish the annual restaurant guide Wo isst Österreich? (Where does Austria eat?), which is still published today under the title Wirtshausführer. In 1993, he and Ewald Plachutta published Die gute Küche. Das österreichische Jahrhundertkochbuch (Good Cooking: The Austrian Cookbook of the Century), one of the country's best-selling cookbooks. Wagner published articles in numerous newspapers and magazines, including GEO, Merian, Wiener Zeitung, and FAZ.
German Archive of Culinary Arts
The German Archive of Culinary Arts in Dresden is the largest publicly accessible collection of cookbooks and menus in the German-speaking world. The Saxon State and University Library (SLUB) and TUD Dresden University of Technology founded the German Archive of Culinary Arts on October 10, 2022. The extensive collection of culinary publications, including manuscripts, books, journals, menus, advertisements, photographs and audio-visual material, is one of the most significant of its kind in Germany. Its highlights include collections of Ernst Birsner, Walter Putz, Wolfram Siebeck and Eckart Witzigmann. It forms the basis for interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research in the humanities, cultural studies and natural sciences regarding culinary art, dining culture and nutritional science as well as their impact on culture and society, as already successfully established at TUD. In future, the extensive holdings of the German Archive of Culinary Arts will be digitally indexed in a project funded by the German Research Foundation and made available in an online portal. This means that they will be available free of charge to both the scientific community and the general public.
The SLUB and TUD invigorate the scientific and societal discourse related to nutrition and culinary arts by organizing events, exhibitions, participatory formats, and publications, thus establishing the German Archive of Culinary Arts as a pivotal player in research, teaching, and the transfer of knowledge to society.
Contact
Annemarie Grohmann, M.A.
SLUB Dresden Press Officer
Tel: +49 351 4677-342
Email: