This is where Unterhaching's art museum worth millions could be built

Created: 05/20/2022, 11:30 am

By: Martin Becker

The Pesl villa in Unterhaching houses numerous art treasures, which its deceased owner wished to retain as an art museum.

© Martin Becker

The municipality of Unterhaching is facing an exciting challenge: it may want to run an art museum.

This is evident from the will of honorary citizen Rudolf Pesl.

He bequeaths his villa with numerous art treasures to the community.

Unterhaching

– The honorary citizen Rudolf Pesl died on February 28 at the age of 99 and bequeathed his villa on Wallbergstrasse to the community through one of his three foundations, along with significant art objects of inestimable value.

The testament

One of the stipulations in the will: the 2000 square meter Pesl villa is to be converted into a museum.

The deceased patron of the arts, who also supported the Alte and Neue Pinakothek in Munich with his enormous fortune, took various precautions during his lifetime to adequately preserve his treasures for posterity.

As early as 1990 he founded the Pesl Foundation in Unterhaching – as his heir, in the event of his death, i.e. this year, the community should continue his life’s work.

The framework conditions laid down in the will are "a complex construct, the tasks are diverse," explained Armin Konetschny (Greens) in the municipal council.

He is a member of the board of trustees, as are Stefan Zöllinger (CSU) and Mayor Wolfgang Panzer (SPD) as board members.

In accordance with Rudolf Pesl's legacy, an architect and a lawyer from Unterhaching have now been elected to the board of trustees in the municipal council: Kurt-Jürgen Schweizer (58), a graduate engineer in wood technology and authorized signatory at Apleona Expansion in Munich, and Christian Dollinger (58), who has a doctorate Lawyer and former CSU local chairman.

The position of an art or museum expert is still vacant - the municipality is looking for this and wants to create a concrete requirement profile.

art treasures

In June or July it is also planned that the entire municipal council will get an idea of ​​the art treasures in the Pesl villa on site.

This includes, among other things, the world's second-largest Mongolian collection after St. Petersburg, an original of Schedel's world chronicle from 1493 and around 10,000 historically significant books.

Alternative to museum

According to town hall spokesman Simon Hötzl, it has not yet been finally clarified that the striking, yellow Pesl villa will actually become a museum: "Alternatively, it would be conceivable to make the exhibits accessible to the public on loan to other museums worldwide." That was exactly what Rudolf was looking for Pesl ultimately;

that his art collection doesn't gather dust, but that the world gets to see it.

also read

Five out of nine educators reported sick: Kita near Munich stops operating – the background is tricky

Vacationers drive e-scooters on the highway: the smartphone was to blame

Big challenge

In his will, the deceased Unterhachinger honorary citizen decreed that the community had to convert his Pesl villa into a museum, that the property must never be demolished and that it must be included in the list of monuments in the medium term, that all objects in the collection be restored and preserved or replaced with equivalent value, as well as safety - and air conditioning are to be adapted accordingly.

In view of the assets that now have to be managed in the hundreds of millions, the municipality of Unterhaching faces enormous challenges in many respects, including monitoring and insurance, for example.