Quite a few well-known personalities and brilliant minds have lived in Munich and left their mark, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Freddie Mercury, and Albert Einstein. The famous writer Thomas Mann can also be added to this list. He spent about twenty years in the city on the Isar and even received the Nobel Prize in Literature during that time. The address where his villa stood remains culturally significant to this day.
The estate in Bogenhausen
In 1913, Thomas Mann purchased a plot of land near Herzogpark in Bogenhausen and had a villa built on it. A year later, he moved in with his family to the bourgeois estate, which has been repeatedly featured in both the media and literature. The architecture was “bourgeois-stately,” as Peter de Mendelssohn described it, featuring a prominent bay window. Thomas Mann himself found great inspiration in the house and the surrounding villa district, which is reflected in several of his works, such as “Master and Dog” and “The Magic Mountain.”
According to the Mann family, a strict working atmosphere prevailed in the villa. This likely contributed to the fact that some of his most significant works were written during this time, works that ultimately earned him the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1929. For this reason, the Thomas Mann Villa is still considered a literary landmark today, even though the original building no longer stands.
The Old and New Thomas Mann Villa
During the Nazi era, the family was forced to leave the villa and went into exile because Thomas Mann had been expropriated. The building sustained severe damage during the war and subsequently served as shelter for people who had lost their homes to bombing. In 1948, Thomas Mann regained ownership of his property, but the building was in a state of ruin. Four years later, the city had the building evacuated and demolished due to the risk of disease and collapse.
Thomas Mann subsequently sold the property, and a bungalow was initially built there. However, this too was demolished in 2006, and a replica of the villa took its place. While the facade resembles the original building, the interior layout differs from that of 1913. The new villa changed hands again in 2015—and has since belonged to an investor named Thomas Manns.
He is said to have paid around 30 million euros for the replica of his namesake’s estate. It serves as a private residence and is not open to the public. Another replica of the Thomas Mann villa is also located at the Bavaria Film Studios in Geiselgasteig, where it serves as a film set.
