New build - GWG München

The Maikäfer Estate
(Maikäfersiedlung)
Even if it is not what you would normally think of as a garden
estate, it definitely has a certain garden-like character to it
that is unique in Munich. And it is this that has considerably
enhanced the local reputation of the erstwhile “Echardinger
Grünstreifen People’s Residential Estate”: its gardens and
cheap rents were always the main attractions of the Maikäfer
Estate and, although it has changed a lot over the past 75
years, it has remained true to itself. Always cherished fanatically
by its residents, the estate has retained a certain independence
and introspection. The SPD party was re-established
in Munich on 1 st February 1946 in the nearby “Echardinger
Einkehr“ pub. The dance hall also provided a venue for
teenagers to take their first tentative steps towards a new,
post-war world.
It is true that the tiny apartments, which had neither bath nor
shower facilities, were already considered sub-standard residences
in the 1960s, but this is only one side of the coin. With
its low rents and close proximity to the town centre, Berg am
Laim was also a place that attracted artists and hedonists alike.
But much has changed since then. The tram rails have
disappeared, as has the flight path to Riem Airport. The old
buildings have been demolished , but the area’s sense of community
remains. And it is the solidarity of the residents of the
Maikäfer Estate that has set it apart over the years. In the first
new residential property to be constructed by GWG München
since the Second World War, the focus is on contemporary
comforts and apartment size. The new concept can be seen
from a distance, thanks to the new building’s conspicuous
front end that stretches towards the Mittlerer Ring. Large
sections of the original estate from 1936-1939 have been
demolished and replaced by buildings born of a far more modern
era, with facilities and low energy consumption to match.
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