Painters are people with eyes, the Isar valley is a feast for the eyes. So it is obvious that the region south of Munich has repeatedly attracted important artists. Bernhard Pankok, born in Münster in 1872, who would have celebrated his 150th birthday this year, is one of them. He spent many years of his life in Baierbrunn and often captured the place and its surroundings on canvas. At the initiative and request of the local heritage association, the community has now decided to purchase an oil painting by the painter, graphic artist, designer and long-time director of the Stuttgart School of Applied Arts. It is the picture “View of Baierbrunn” from around 1900. The purchase price is 7,500 euros, and a clear majority in the municipal council voted in favor of the purchase. In the future, the picture is to be hung in a publicly accessible area of the town hall.
Christine Kammermeier (SPD) paid tribute to the work of the association for homeland care, which in the current anniversary year has tried to make the largely forgotten Pankok, after which a path in Baierbrunn is named, better known. “I would like to thank the Heimatverein for its work,” she explained, emphasizing that there were other artists besides Pankok who had lived in Baierbrunn and deserved more attention – also in view of the community’s 1250th anniversary in 2026: “We want to offer something.” Ravindrah Nath (FDP) took a slightly different view, describing the purchase of the painting as a “waste of tax money”. He was one of four local councilors who voted against the acquisition.