Horváth House

Budapest, Berlin, Munich. The important dramatist and author Ödön von Horváth (1901-1938) saw a lot of Europe. But nowhere did he like it as much as in Murnau on the Staffelsee. Was it the view of the Murnauer Moos, the Zugspitze region, the quaint inns or the tranquility of the town of Murnau? In Murnau, von Horváth found a wealth of inspiration for his works and a very special feeling of home.
In Murnau, the writer found crucial inspiration for his world-famous works. He closely observed the inhabitants and events of the region. This enabled him to explore their thoughts, feelings and actions.

Horváth's most famous novel, "Youth Without God" (1937), is also set in the region of the Blue Land. In 1934, the National Socialists set up their first tent camp in the idyllic town of Aidling, just a few kilometers from Murnau. Horváth used this camp as the setting for his novel, in which he criticized the influence of Nazi ideology on young people.

After the National Socialists seized power in 1933, a fateful conflict broke out between Horváth and some Murnau Nazi supporters.
A commotion broke out and after Horváth's property was searched by the SS, the writer left Murnau. After the occupation of Austria, Ödön von Horváth fled into exile, to Budapest, Zurich and Paris, among other places. In June 1938, he was killed by a falling branch on the Champs-Elysées.