THE VILLA STRAUSS
The villa stands on the outskirts of Garmisch, at Zoeppritzstraße 42, with a view of the Zugspitze across the valley, the highest mountain in Germany. The villa was built for Richard and Pauline Strauss by the Bavarian jugendstil architect Emanuel von Seidl, after extensive consultation with the couple about their requirements. Emanuel von Seidl was the brother of Gabriel von Seidl who was the architect of the National Museum in Munich. The Villa has a large garden but is now in a street of other houses, which was not the case when it was built in 1907/08. Strauss’s decision to move to Garmisch co-incided with the opening of a railway line between Munich and Garmisch, and it was a fashionable thing to do at this time. However Strauss was concerned about the effects of his stressful lifestyle on his health, and felt he needed this retreat. The Strauss’s moved into the villa in 1908, at first using it only in the summer, but later making it their home all the year round. It was only later, in 1935, in preparation for the 1936 Winter Olympics, that Garmisch became joined to the neighbouring town of Partenkirchen. The Richard-Strauss-Institut, originally in Munich, is across town in Partenkirchen. Although the two towns have been joined since 1935, the local people still think of them as separate entities. Our party caught a bus from outside the Rathaus in Partenkirchen and then walked a short way to the Villa, full of anticipation. The Villa Strauss is in some respects a museum. The rooms are preserved as they were when Richard Strauss lived there, and it is possible for members of the public to see round the house. A tour of the villa includes only the downstairs rooms. Upstairs there is the archive and the room where Strauss died, which is preserved as a memorial. However the Villa Strauss is not open to the public in the normal sense. Special permission has to be obtained from the Strauss family, who still use the house for family gatherings, though they are not there all the time.
			The Villa Strauss, 42 Zoeppritzstraße, Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Strauss had a wonderful view of the mountains from the window of his study on the right side of the house. The long tree lined path from gate in the street is on the right, just out of sight.
				Emanuel von Seidl (1856 – 1919), the brother of Gabriel von Seidl, is today almost unknown, but between about 1900 and 1918 he was probably the most successful architect of private mansions in southern Germany. He was responsible for about 180 projects and a third of these were large mansions and country houses and his larger projects were mainly in the related field of large civic buildings. (He did also design a zoo.) He was also an interior designer and landscape architect and usually undertook all of these aspects of a project. Emanuel von Seidl was the architect chosen for princely building projects and in employing him Richard Strauss was opting for a princely dwelling. Von Seidl’s houses have a characteristic appearance although they are of course all individually distinct. Some are now hotels. Please use the links below for further information on the architect’s work, and for his connection with Murnau.
Map of the north-western corner of Garmisch, showing the location of Zoeppritzstraße
View from the middle of the front garden of the Villa Strauss. The front gate in Zoeppritzstraße is at the extreme left. The Alpspitze and the Zugspitze can be seen across the valley
Our visit was arranged for us by Dr. May of the Richard-Strauss-Institut. Permission in principle was obtained well in advance of the visit, and then it had to be confirmed just before the visit, that the Strauss family would not be using the house. This makes the villa unlike a museum, in that it is still partly a family home. When we arrived we were greeted at the door by Frau Anni Nitzl who has been the Strauss family’s housekeeper since 1944, and by all accounts is regarded as a member of the family. It would have been fascinating to talk to Frau Nitzl about the composer, but unfortunately she no longer gives interviews of this kind. Having welcomed us, she went about her work. When we were ready to sign the visitors’ book before leaving, Frau Nitzl then re-appeared to say goodbye and presented us with some souvenir postcards.
				Dr. May, who is extremely well informed on everything relating to Richard Strauss, was our cicerone for the tour of the house. The entrance hall and staircase are decorated with hunting trophies which actually belonged to the composer’s son Franz. Strauss did not hunt but hunting is a traditional Bavarian pastime and from this angle he probably liked the idea. Also on display here is a large collection of verre églomisé (painting with use of gold leaf on the underside of glass), one of the composer’s numerous collecting passions. The basic tour of the ground floor is circular. The long passage on the left leads to the dining room. To the right of the foot of the stairs is the door to the salon, beyond which are the ‘library’ (Pauline’s study) and the study (where Strauss composed). From the far end of the study you come back across the end of the passage into the dining room and an adjoining recreational space known as the Erker (bay or recess) where afternoon tea was served and where Strauss played Skat (a card game that he much enjoyed playing with his friends), or took a nap.
The entrance hall and stairs. The front door is on the left.
Should you be unfamiliar with Skat you may be interested to know that Skat is a card game for three players which is now played worldwide by 20 million Skat enthusiasts and can be played online. There is an International Skat Players Association (ISPA) with a web page in English. The main Skat organisation in Germany is the Deutscher Skatverband (DSkV) which is based in Althenberg near Leipzig, the birthplace of the game. Their website (in German) gives the official Skat rules. Bavaria’s main Skat organisation is the Bayrischer Skatverband e.V. Their website is also in German. Here is a link to a helpful Skat website in English: http://jwsell.wooster.edu/Skat/Skatdflt.html .
In the window at the right hand end of the entrance hall is a stained glass panel depicting Daphne being transformed into a laurel tree to save her from her pursuer, Apollo. Tim Ashley has written an interesting article in the Guardian (10 May 2002) in which he suggests that this myth was of particular significance to Strauss. The suggestion is that Daphne came to symbolize integrity and creativity and her pursuer was identified by Strauss with characteristics of the Nazis. You will find a link to this article below.
		Above: Panel in the entrance hall of the Villa Strauss, depicting Daphne being transformed into a laurel tree. Right: Bernini’s sculpture Daphne and Apollo
Looking round the villa, the impression is certainly one of a family home, and you feel that Richard Strauss or Pauline might come through the door at any moment. Like any home it contains the acquisitions of a lifetime, but in the case of the Strauss family this amounts to a great deal. Strauss was an inveterate collector, of verre églomisé, of Bavarian religious art, of butterflies, of crystal, to name but some of the collections displayed in the villa. There are the famous portraits of Strauss and of his wife, there are innumerable valuable gifts given to Strauss to commemorate particular occasions, such as performances of his operas. The impression of each room is therefore also one of an exhibition. However it was all a part of the composer’s life, not an exhibition created after his death. Added to this, for us, things such as Strauss’s piano, the desk where he worked, his skat table all become part of the exhibition, whereas for the composer and his family they were working parts of their home. There is thus a constant tension between the experience of walking through a home and that of visiting a museum. You imagine that the house is cared for as though Richard Strauss might walk through the door, but there is also consideration for the fact that the admirers of the composer will be interested in it.
							The salon contains paintings by the Berlin impressionist, Christian Rohlf and portraits of Strauss and Pauline D’ Ahna. The story is told that Pauline complained that the portrait by Max Lieberman was not a good likeness of Strauss. The painter rejoined that in years to come nobody would care who the subject of the portrait was. They would only be interested in the fact that it was a Lieberman. In the salon showcases a valuable collection of crystal is on display. Through the open door you can see through the ‘library’ into the study where Strauss worked. The library, with a small collection of books, was used by Pauline Strauss as a study and the bookcases contain her books. There are more books in the study, including the complete works of Goethe, read several times by Strauss.
Portraits of Richard Strauss and Pauline d’Ahna in the salon
Impressionist paintings by the Berlin artist Christian Rohlf in the salon							Collection of crystal in display cabinets in the salon, with a view through the open door into the ‘library’ and, beyond this, the study
The library, which was used by Pauline Strauss as her study						Another view of the library
The desk in the study, at which Strauss worked in front of the window overlooking the garden and the mountains behind the house						Strauss at his desk
Above: Strauss’s piano. Left: the room seen from near the piano with cherry wood furniture and the portrait of Strauss conducting					The study interior was designed by Emanuel von Seidl, and all the furniture, including the desk and piano is in cherry wood.
Above is a view of the dining room showing the entrance door at the extreme left and the door into the utility rooms just beyond the dresser. On the right is the other side of the dining room, with the Erker or recess beyond the arches. This is an informal living area used for afternoon tea, skat or relaxation
A slightly confusing image: we are in the recess beyond the dining room, looking through the archway into the dining room				Another view of the recess, seen from the window, with the kitchen (utility rooms) door just visible past the pillar on the left. The dining room lies to the left of the photograph and the pillar is between the two arches. The door on the right leads outside to the veranda. Strauss’s passion for collecting is in evidence.
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