Liebermann-Villa at the Wannsee

If the small pay booth didn’t exist, one could think Max Lieberman to appear right around the corner to offer the visitor a cup of tea on his house terrace. The Liebermann Villa is a paradisiacal place: the Berlin painter Max Liebermann fled to his refuge at the Wannsee from the Berlin that had become loud and dirty. After a conscious and loving restoration of the house and the original garden design, one can, at least as a visitor, experience it as he did.

My “castle at the lake”, Liebermann lovingly called his villa, and thereby expressed his entire pride and joy for his summer residence at the Wannsee. Today as then, dahlias, hollyhocks and many further perennials proliferate and race up in the cottage garden that is situated to the street. Towards the lake, the large windows of the villa give a clear view onto a birch grove. White wooden chairs and a tee pavilion invite to bide a while.

The villa has stood at the Wannsee for exactly 100 years now; it was designed according to the specific ideas of the painter. Starting 1910, with wife, daughter, and later also with granddaughter, the Berliner painter spent his summers at his house at the Wannsee. More than 200 of his paintings came into being here. In 2006, thanks to the efforts of the Max Liebermann Society, the villa, with around 40 original works, was able to open as a museum. Piece by piece, the house and garden arose in accordance to the historical model. Whoso wants can themselves contribute to it: anyone can assume sponsorships for trees, bushes, flowerbeds and spaces. MWi