Sonnenhof (Starnberg)
The Palais Sonnenhof (also Villa Böhler or Villa Graf Bernstorff) is a monument of the Upper Bavarian city of Starnberg and is located at Hanfelderstraße 75 - 79.
"It was without a doubt one of the most architecturally valuable facilities on Lake Starnberg , yes, one of the most important in the villa landscape in the Munich area."
The building with an impressive view of the entire Alpine chain, from Berchtesgaden to Lake Constance , was built in 1912 on the upper Hanfelder Berg, just before the hill at Riedeselstrasse, in the style of a French castle.
history
In 1912, the important Munich antiques dealer and royal court antiquarian Julius Böhler succeeded in acquiring one of the last highly attractive building sites in Starnberg on the upper Hanfelder Berg. He commissioned Hans Noris , one of the best-known and most progressive Munich architects of the time and student of Gabriel von Seidl , to create a building that would meet all the requirements of a luxurious country estate and also express the client's taste and lifestyle. The result is a building that is particularly effective thanks to its excellent location in the landscape and radiates majestic calm and nobility thanks to its clear architectural lines. In 1920 Julius Böhler's divorced wife sold the entire property to the diplomat and long-time German ambassador to the USA, Johann Graf Bernstorff, for RM 1,100,000. This in turn commissioned Hans Noris to make some structural changes. The most visible measure to the outside was the mirror-image and structurally identical addition of a second side wing on the west side of the building. As a result of the structural interventions, the appearance of the villa in its stately and representative quality was increased. Bernstorff emigrated in the face of the Nazi takeover of power , finally sold the building in 1934 to Alfred Walz, son of Heidelberg mayor Ernst Walz, and in 1948 finally transferred the property to his daughter, Edith Walz. In 1976, the property was finally acquired by the city of Starnberg and a few years later handed over to a group of investors to implement a hotel and later retirement home project. However, due to internal inconsistencies, the projects were never implemented. The building had stood empty since 1990 and was used for event and film recordings. Finally, the German entrepreneur Peter Löw succeeded in acquiring the run-down property in 2002 and renovating it from the ground up.
Architectural features
The Palais Sonnenhof offers an image of balanced serenity due to the balanced symmetry of the façades and the beautiful hipped roof . Due to the down-to-earth materials and the high-quality, detail-focused processing, the facades appear without any accessories, solely through the quality of the architecture. The villa is designed to be effective on all sides, and unlike the older houses on the lake, which often only have one face, all four facades are designed to be equal. The interior layout of the building can be seen very clearly on the south-facing garden facade. On the ground floor, characterized by French arched windows, there are living and representative rooms. The main entrance to the villa is at the rear of the building and is flanked by columns. Above is a belvedere , which allows a view of the entire rear park. The generously dimensioned, light-filled living rooms can be reached from a vaulted vestibule equipped with red marble stairs. The middle is occupied by the large living and music room, whose exedra-like window side gives the room a special touch. On the side there is a salon and a library with Florentine coffered ceilings from the 17th century, beautiful marble chimneys (Italy, 16th / 17th centuries) and door frames made of red marble. Since the renovation under Count Bernstorff, the dining room has been located behind the winter garden with an elevator to the kitchen below. On the upper floor there are several bedrooms and bathrooms. The more simply designed upper floor is supplemented on both sides by large balconies.
Park
The extensive park, designed according to the English model, stretches from the top of the hill down to Oswaldstrasse. It forms an elongated, trapezoidal area that slopes significantly towards the south and thus opens up an unobstructed view of the landscape at all points. While the terrain slopes sharply towards Hanfelderstrasse on the eastern edge, it rises rapidly on the western edge to finally culminate in a hill-like vantage point southwest of the villa. This not only results in a very effective graduation, but also the possibility of a system of paths in a moving, very varied tour. The part of the garden in front of the lake-side facade is laid out as a baroque-style ground floor, into which one steps down from the terrace of the elevated villa via a sweeping staircase. The garden ground floor is bordered at its apex by an arched parapet with a baroque grille. From here, walking paths lead to the lower part of the park on both sides. At the rear of the villa, a similar complex, also laid out in a wide arc, reflects the front garden ground floor. It is the destination of the driveway and is bordered by a slightly raised and accessible wall, which is backed by two tiered tuff stone walls to the north. In the middle, stairs lead to a room formed by tuff stone walls with benches and a fountain basin. From this room, paths lead to the rear of the park. The back garden ground floor also maintains the strict order of a baroque complex. On the west side of the villa there is a rectangular ornamental garden , which is enriched by a wall fountain. The strictly geometrical parts of the garden, which relate directly to the villa, form terraced, stepped areas within the long slope. This effectively lifts the structure out of the site and increases its importance. From the ornamental garden, a narrow path leads up to a hill-shaped lookout point with an open pavilion. From there a shady path leads through the forest-like trees to the rear part of the park. The park originally extended over an area of 6.4 hectares, of which around 3 hectares are still preserved today. The large nursery that arose after the war on the corner of Hanfelderstrasse and Oswaldstrasse, inflicted the first significant losses on the park. The kitchen garden with vegetable patches and fruit trees was previously located here. The park was also reduced in size under the ownership of the City of Starnberg, as the decision was made to separate the lower half of the park and build it with multi-storey residential buildings.
Outbuildings
Several outbuildings belong to the Palais Sonnenhof, some of which have only recently been added to the property again. Behind the entrance gate on Hanfelderstrasse is the porter's and gardener's house as well as the former stable and the coach house, which was later converted into car garages. Since these outbuildings are on the same level as Hanfelderstrasse, while the villa is a few meters higher, they are barely noticeable from above. The area beyond Oßwaldstrasse, where the extensive orchard used to be, is now built on with buildings from the Starnberg Hospital. The former large gardener's house is now a horticultural company.
Others
- In 1996 the Palais Sonnenhof, directed by Rainer Kaufmann , was the main location for the German feature film “ Die Apothekerin ”. In the film, the villa is completely destroyed by a fire.
- A large, detailed model of the villa with the associated park, which shows the state around 1920/25, is an important exhibit at the Starnberger See Museum today .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f Gerhard Schober: District Starnberg (= Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation [Hrsg.]: Monuments in Bavaria. Volume I.21). 2nd Edition. Munich / Zurich 1991
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Gerhard Schober: Early villas and country houses on Lake Starnberg, Oreos Verlag, 2nd edition 1999
Coordinates: 48 ° 0 ′ 34.5 ″ N , 11 ° 19 ′ 59.6 ″ E