There was hardly a question about Unterföhring’s history that the long-time local chronicler Heinrich Frey didn’t have an answer to. And if it did, then he researched until he found it – in his memory, in books or in his own large archive. Anyone who was out and about in the community with Frey could be sure that he not only had the facts ready at every place and building, but that he also knew how to tell an entertaining story – about the people whose joy and suffering, trials and tribulations. Frey knew all these stories and the local people knew him. Heinrich Frey died last Sunday at the age of 85. He leaves behind a wife and two sons.
Frey’s work for his home town goes back to the 800th anniversary celebrations that Unterföhring celebrated in 1980. Frey played a key role in the creation of the great community chronicle, and he was also responsible for organizing the historical pageant. Collecting details about places and people has always been one of Frey’s passions, as has preserving everyday objects that bear witness to how the people of Unterföhring lived and worked in times long past. It was thanks to his initiative that the museum association “Feringer Sach” was founded in 1982 and has been working with great success ever since. The museum of the same name opened its doors in 2000 in the rooms of the former Gandl cinema on Bahnhofstrasse. Frey gave many lectures and organized local history walks, during which he always spoke with a wink of life from times long past.
For a total of 36 years, until he died in early 2022, Frey was Unterföhringer local chronicler. According to an obituary from the town hall, he shared his enthusiasm for everything historical, to which he owed his nickname “Caesar”. In 2005 he was awarded the citizen’s medal by the municipal council for his work. Unterföhring also owes the humorous and hands-on Frey all the stories that are summarized in the brochure for the local history trail on the S-Bahn tunnel.