Anton Stetter and Daniel Glasl are also reviewing hundreds of historical photos for their new book project.
This time from the entire Miesbach district.
And everyone can help.
District
- you inspect black and white photos with a magnifying glass, leaf through thick tomes and scour the Internet. When Anton Stetter and Daniel Glasl rummage through their now considerable collection of historical images of the Miesbach district, it all looks like the office of two crime scene investigators. “We work investigatively,” says Stetter and adds with a laugh. "And we're two angry too."
Stetter, the head of Bavarian Distillers GmbH (including Lantenhammer and Tegernsee Arkaden) and Glasl, the photo designer from Tegernsee, have already reported that in the end, something presentable will come out of it with their photo book "Das Schlierachtal: An exit in historical photographs", which was published for Christmas 2020 Proven.
Now they are back to searching and sorting.
At the end of 2022, they want to present their second joint work.
This time with pictures from all communities in the Miesbach district.
And because some of them still need special photos and stories, they call on citizens to participate.
Reactions to the first book "overwhelming"
The two editors at the Kleine Heimat Verlag, founded by Glasl, were surprised or even overwhelmed by the reactions to their book about Schlierachtal. “With Daniel, people knew he could do it. But somehow nobody thought I could read and write, ”says Stetter dryly. Some have joked what they had paid Glasl so that their name could be on the cover. In fact, however, the business graduate was responsible for researching and writing the (deliberately short) texts for the photos. Whole stories had to be summarized on six lines. "Fortunately, I know my way around distilling," says Stetter with a smile.
Before they even get the facts, the two book editors have to dive deep into the world their photos show.
Because: Not every town hall has a complete archive or experienced local history researchers.
Just fathoming the year in which a picture was taken borders on detective work in some cases.
How tall were the trees on this view, how tall on the other?
What year of construction could the car in front of the town hall have?
With such clues, Stetter and Glasl try to reconstruct the history that has only been handed down in fragments.
Also read: Elevated images: This is what it looked like in the Tegernsee Valley 100 years ago
“Our books do not claim to be complete,” admits Glasl.
But it is not their aim at all to write a dry chronicle, but to touch people.
"If you were angry, you would call us the Walt Disney of homeland research," says Stetter and laughs.
But the feedback that the editors of the Schlierachtal book get shows them that they have done everything right.
For example, a young man told him that his grandmother, who was suffering from dementia, suddenly became clear in her head for an hour while looking at the old recordings in the retirement home and told enthusiastically about the time.
“This is of course a moving confirmation of our work,” enthuses the photographer.
And the motivation to add another work.
There is still no suitable material from Otterfing
But in which direction this should go, Stetter and Glasl did not really agree. They rejected the idea of only showing the Leitzach valley. Reason: Here the townscape has not changed as much as elsewhere. Another book about the Tegernsee or Schlierachtal alone did not want to come out either. Despite many unpublished pictures, that would have been too one-sided for them. And so the plan was born to plow the entire district.
Whereby: Strictly speaking, Stetter and Glasl first wanted to orientate themselves towards the historic Miesbach district. But here the community of Otterfing would have been left out. Because the authors still lack good visual material for this anyway, they would have made this compromise first. But now they want to try to portray the northernmost municipality in the district by calling on the citizens. Stetter also plans to “attack” the former mayor Jakob Eglseder. “He needs a new challenge anyway.” He also wants to approach the other town hall chiefs in the district.
The new book project has already received the district administrator's blessing, reports Stetter with a smile.
Olaf von Löwis is happy to be able to present an appropriate gift on appropriate occasions in the district.
"Until now," smiles Stetter, "he always had to use whiskey."
Call for participation
Anyone who has historical photos from the period up to around the Second World War can contact info@kleineheimat.bayern or the address kleineheimat Verlag, Gschwandlerweg 4, 83684 Tegernsee.