Marie von Miller looks back on an eventful and long life.
She is the granddaughter of the electrical pioneer Oskar von Miller, who, among other things, planned the Schöngeisinger waterworks.
She recently invited people to her salon and told them about her résumé.
Her great niece Julia von Miller sang along with it.
Fürstenfeldbruck / Niederpöcking - A visit to Miller's property in Niederpöcking (Starnberg district) is an experience in itself.
Not only because of the unique location of the castle-like villa on Lake Starnberg.
When entering the salon of the hostess Marie von Miller, it is like stepping into a forgotten world.
Into the world of antique furniture and old carpets, oil paintings and cultivated conversation.
For the latter, Marie von Miller had invited unknown guests this time.
The Munich Hofspielhaus, where her second niece, Julia von Miller, is a member of the ensemble, organized the “Salon privé”.
This afternoon around 50 interested people are sitting in the cozy room with a view of the lake, some on chairs, some on the stairs, others in the bay window.
You listen to what Marie von Miller has to say - among the portraits of the hostess' famous grandparents, the founder of the Deutsches Museum, Oskar von Miller, and his wife, the painter Marie von Miller, after whom the 88-year-old is named.
In the salon of the house that the great-grandfather and creator of Bavaria, Ferdinand von Miller, who came from Fürstenfeldbruck, had built.
For his large family and friends, as he noted in the entrance area.
“I built this house for friends and dear guests.
Entrusted to the children to celebrate happy festivities, ”it says in the entrance area, framed in gold.
Elaborate details can be found throughout the house.
Great-grandfather Ferdinand cast the group of figures on the terrace, based on a design by the artist Max Widmann.
The house breathes the spirit of the Millers.
Usually the family came to visit Niederpöcking.
Rudolf von Miller, Marie von Miller's father, lived in Munich.
Until 1942, when it became more and more dangerous in the state capital.
The family fled from Munich and from the hail of bombs there.
Marie von Miller was nine years old at the time.
“It was tight, but nice,” she says when asked about this time.
"Instead of a city garden, we had a beautiful park by the lake, which was very exciting for us."
As a young girl, Marie von Miller went to America for a year and graduated from high school at the age of 16.
Back in Germany, she completed an apprenticeship as a physiotherapist.
She lived in Italy for five years, then came back home.
Dog Boggi is also part of the “Salon Privé”.
His predecessor brought Marie von Miller to volunteer work that she has been pursuing with enthusiasm for over 20 years.
In 1999 she founded the Roseninsel sponsorship group.
The association campaigned for the island in Lake Starnberg to be planted with roses again, to become an attractive destination for guests and locals, and to keep donating to special projects.
“I discovered it while walking the dog,” she says.
"The island was so shabby."
The 88-year-old still does her job today.
When asked what the secret of her straight frame and her obvious fitness is, she replies: “My job.
As a physiotherapist you have a different approach to your own body. "
Just like a salon in the 19th century, the “Salon Privé” in the Miller Villa was enriched with musical enjoyment.
SANDRA SEDLMAYER
