Lochmann House

Object type: Log house
Inventory number: nn
Acquired: 1913
Material: Wood and stone construction
Dimensions: 29m × 14m × 8m (95' × 46' × 26')
On display: Yes

As well as being one of the museum’s exhibition buildings, Lochmann House is also one of its most important exhibits. Parts of the structure are known to have been built in the early 16th century, for analysis shows that the wood used for the magnificent ceiling and wall paneling on the upper floor was felled in 1520. However, Lochmann House in its current form dates back to its reconstruction or conversion around 1691–93. A kitchen with an open fireplace has been preserved from this period. Before Lochmann House became a museum in 1912, it was a farmhouse on an agricultural holding that also owned fishing rights. Until the opening of the railroad line in 1865, the farm adjoined the lake.

Lochmann House is unusual in that it has two separate dwellings – one on either floor – each consisting of a parlor, a kitchen, and a bedchamber. The rooms on the top floor with their large windows and gothic paneling are more luxurious than the simpler apartment downstairs. This is because the building once had a unique dual function. As well as being inhabited by fishermen and farmers, it also served as a manor house. Whereas the family who leased the farm lived downstairs, upstairs was reserved for the gentry, who normally resided in Tutzing Palace and only stayed in Lochmann House when they were in Starnberg. The two floors were structurally separated; the upper rooms could only be reached via an outside staircase. Only when the tenant family acquired the entire farm in the 19th century were stairs built between the floors. We also know from a description of the estate from 1636 that the building was located in the middle of an orchard – a forerunner of the idyllic garden surrounding the museum today.