“From there (Schwabing) the street in the plain, the Schwaige St. Georg, actually Milbertshofen, runs left through small pleasant forests and Haiden, to the inn, called the cold or new hostel,” writes Adrian von Riedel at the end of 18th century in his travel atlas of Bavaria. At this point in time, the Schwaige Milbertshofen was several hundred years old. It is the time when Milbertshofen begins to become a real town beyond individual farmsteads.
In 1853 there were already 245 people living there, today there are more than 76,000 in the city district, which includes the historic Milbertshofen as well as the Am Hart settlement, the Harthof, the Olympiadorf and the Oberwiesenfeld as well as the Nordhaide settlement there is not much left: a few foundation walls and the monuments on Alten Sankt-Georgs-Platz. One of them – the oldest house in the district – has surprisingly come back to life after a long period of vacancy.
Tim Hammer watches his studio partner as he molds his nose. For himself it is a bit more brutal when he works his journeyman’s piece out of the carving block with a club and a knife. “That causes an unbelievable amount of dirt and a lot of volume. It wouldn’t last long in my apartment,” he says.
A piece of jewelery usable again: art is now at home in the former district center.
(Photo: private)
The budding wood sculptor is happy that he has found a place at Alten Sankt-Georgs-Platz 4 where he can be loud and also make art without having to pay anything. He is among the first 22 young creative people between the ages of 18 and 27 who are allowed to use the new “Art Training Room Milbertshofen (Freestyle)” as a study, networking platform and exhibition space.
Five years of temporary use for young creative people
It is a pilot project for the very young artists that the city’s cultural department supports with 110,000 euros a year. The “freestyle” is carried by the district work association and the “Kontrapunkt gGmbH / Imal”. The concept is initially set to run for five years, but: “Cultural advisor Anton Biebl is a proponent of the project. We hope that it can continue in Milbertshofen,” says Amelie Gürster. Katharina Zink adds: “I think it’s very important that there are long-term solutions for young artists in Munich.” The experience from the temporary use of Gabriele in Neuhausen shows that such creative houses create an insane community. The two women who work together as project coordinators to ensure that everything runs smoothly, hope that a similar cohesion can be promoted there.
The organizers Amelie Gürster (left) and Katharina Zink hope to be able to stay longer.
(Photo: Robert Haas)
For a long time it was uncertain whether this test laboratory in the north of Munich would even go into operation. Since 1987, the Milbertshofen district center on Alten Sankt-Georgs-Platz with a meeting place for children, young people and women has been housed in the municipal building, which is said to have once housed a wash house and an inn. The 200 year old walls have not survived the time and all the different uses as well as hoped. Again and again, moisture moved up the walls, mold spores spread, the cellar had to be closed. Finally, the district center moved into a new building.
The old house had been empty since 2018. In the meantime, district politicians wanted a district museum to move in there – equipped with the estate of district historian Franz Schrenk. But that failed because long-term use would be hazardous to health due to the mold load, according to the municipal department responsible for urban real estate at the beginning of 2020.
In the meantime, the interior walls have been renovated again and the cellar has been shut down. “The current use of the other rooms was approved due to positive indoor air measurements by the health department,” says a spokeswoman for the municipal department. On this basis, a health risk for staff and cultural workers can be excluded. According to the city, the renovation cost 25,000 euros.
Historically significant, but not in really good condition: the building at Alten Sankt-Georgs-Platz 4.
(Photo: Robert Haas)
Although young creative people have been working in the “Freestyle” since summer, it has not yet been as accessible to the public as planned. Everyone in the art laboratory wants to come into contact with the people in the neighborhood. Pottery courses that were booked out immediately also showed that there was a great need for cultural participation in Milbertshofen, says Amelie Gürster. And: “Our vision is to be an open and lively cultural place for everyone.” The team wants to start the new year with this and then finally open the studio doors of the oldest house in the district for everyone.