On the shores of Lake Starnberg near Munich is the Fantasy Museum, founded by the German writer, artist and collector Lothar-Gunther Buchheim (1918–2007). This talented man gained international fame after the publication in 1973 of his novel "Submarine" (Das Boot), which was subsequently filmed and received six Oscar nominations - an absolute record for a German film. Buchheim collected material for the book during World War II, when he served as a staff war correspondent for the German Navy on minesweepers based in France, destroyers - but especially on submarines. The architect of the Museum of Fantasy was Gunther Benisch (1922–2010), who was drafted to the front as a minor and by the end of the war he was promoted to captain of the submarine U-2337. Therefore, it is not surprising, given the biographies of the customer and the architect, that the resulting building has a certain similarity with this class of ships.
Buchheim wanted the collection, which he had been collecting for over forty years, to be presented in a museum without any distinction in style, time of creation or other characteristics. He imagined how wonderful it would be to see, for example, figurines from Africa adjacent to each other and expressionist canvases. The latter are undoubtedly the basis of Buchheim's collection: he acquired them immediately after the Second World War - and cheaply, since during the Nazi era, the expressionist works were considered "degenerate art" devoid of any artistic value. Today in the museum you can see works by artists from the famous Most group, Oskar Kokoschka, Max Beckmann - along with African folk art, textiles, furniture, jewelry from Europe, South America, Asia and many others. In a sense, the museum resembles historical rooms of rarities: very different, but equally interesting and demonstrating many aspects of creative thought.
The Buchheim Fantasy Museum has an undeniably excellent location and spacious green area. You can come there by car and, leaving it in the parking lot, go to the building on foot, or take a boat along the lake and then, again, walk to the museum from the pier. From the outside, the building looks very impressive, resembling from all angles an elegant boat that is about to be launched. Before entering the building, on the street you can get acquainted with some works from the Buchheim collection or exhibits from temporary exhibitions, as well as see the beautiful pagoda, which now serves as a gazebo next to bold installations by contemporary artists. Against this unusual background, absolutely "earthly" illustrated plates with a detailed description of the local flora and fauna, unobtrusively placed around the building, look touchingly.
Gunther Benisch perfectly managed to capture the character of Buchheim and to express his vision of life, great love and interest in it in the architecture of the Museum of Fantasy. Anyone entering the building will be immediately struck by the abundance of natural light and the atmosphere of home comfort and warmth, usually uncharacteristic for museum spaces. There are many windows that offer wonderful views of the surrounding landscape, as well as a win-win combination in the interior of natural wood and white. The movement is organized according to a simple and understandable scheme: a long corridor runs through the entire building, which is adjoined by halls for various purposes. At the same time, there is also the possibility of movement directly between the halls, which is regulated in accordance with the current needs of the museum. The visitor can independently draw up a route suitable for him or her, starting from any room he likes, or go to a cafe with panoramic windows and a summer terrace and drink a glass of beer there, which is highly recommended in tourist guides to Bavarian attractions. In addition, you should pay attention to the grotesque papier-mâché figures at the entrance to the cafe - the authorship of the Munich sculptor Angelica Littwin-Pieper. The Buchheim Museum of Fantasy is, in a strange way, a place rarely visited by foreign travelers, therefore the descriptions of the exhibits, and just various pointers, are made here exclusively in German.
An important part of the museum is the art workshop on the ground floor overlooking Lake Starnberg, where workshops and training courses for adults and children are held. Buchheim wanted art not only to be shown in a "preserved" form within the walls of the Museum of Fantasy, but also to be created. Therefore, for example, children's works - the result of classes in the workshop - are then exhibited in temporary exhibitions along with the works of famous artists. This lack of hierarchy is pleasantly striking: you rarely see in the neighboring rooms a funny dinosaur, written by children's six-year-old fingers, and Hundertwasser's sketches.
Soft museum benches self-propelled along certain trajectories are also a very convenient thing in the interior. They slide across the floor at a pace that is comfortable for viewing exhibitions and allow you to see art objects from different angles; then you can come closer to the works you like in order to examine them in more detail. It is a pleasure to watch first the slight shock of visitors, when, in front of their eyes, the benches suddenly smoothly slide to the side, and then - for their laughter and desire to quickly sit on one of them.
Gunther Benisch let nature into the building as much as possible: in addition to the fact that the museum is ideally located on the site, it has panoramic windows, natural materials and fashionable green roof technology, and one of the most successful components of the project was a beautiful terrace on the second floor with a pier 13 meters long sinking into the water of Lake Starnberg. Fascinating views open from the pier at any time of the year, but in winter and late autumn there is predictably strong wind here; however, it does not interfere with enjoying the architecture of the museum and the majestically calm landscape around. In summer, early autumn and spring, on the terrace and pier, you can sit in the sun loungers specially placed for this purpose. Simple wooden benches placed in viewpoints along the coastal territory of the museum are also a pleasant bonus.
Lothar-Gunther Buchheim once said that he doesn’t like hearing people call him a collector - in his opinion, he is simply “an art demonstrator with missionary ideas”. Gunther Benisch understood this perfectly and was able, together with his client, to create an ideal space for showing the possibilities of human fantasy.
