A house with history
'Education plus encounter' through the ages
The history of the House of Bavarian Agriculture Herrsching
The House of Bavarian Agriculture in Herrsching dates back to the first Bavarian agricultural school. At its inauguration on 30 November 1948, BBV President Dr. Fridolin Rothermel set a clear objective: “To educate a large number of people for agriculture by training capable men who, through their work on the farm, as citizens and democrats, will be able to transform the still widespread disregard for agriculture into respect. The teaching was to be non-denominational and non-partisan, but with a Christian ethos. To give the school a solid foundation, the ‘Kuratorium der Bayerischen Bauernschulen e. V.’ was established in September 1949. Its members included the Bavarian Farmers’ Association, the Bavarian Raiffeisen Association and the Free State of Bavaria, represented by the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Forestry and the Ministry of Education and Culture. Thanks to Maria Baur, a state farmer, the second BBV educational institution, a counterpart to Ottobeuren, was established in January 1950 in the form of the Farm Women’s School at Hartschimmel in Pähl am Ammersee.
New home in Herrsching
In 1951, the Farmers’ School moved to Panoramastrasse in Herrsching on the shores of the Ammersee. The advantage was that it was closer to Munich and could be used more effectively with its own farm management, even outside the basic courses. In 1957 it was decided to build a separate school for women farmers at the present site in Herrsching-Lochschwab. In 1976, the building was extensively extended to make room for the combined farmers’ school. The Educational Centre of the Bavarian Farmers’ Association was born. The building has been continuously developed. A separate seminar programme for the rural population was developed around the basic course.
Starting signal for the House of Bavarian Agriculture in Herrsching
The general refurbishment of the building in 2005/2006 did not just involve changing the name to the House of Bavarian Agriculture in Herrsching. The aim was to secure the future of the centre in terms of content and economic viability. A wide range of meeting facilities were created to live up to the new house’s motto of “Education plus Meeting at Lake Ammersee”. The building was modernised. Fortunately, the atrium character of the building was retained – the light-flooded rooms with their large window fronts, which not least allow for the feeling of a free and informal spirit that has always characterised the atmosphere and work in the building. A new standard was set in 2014 with the ‘Great Hall’, which meets the most modern requirements, and the attractive ‘Winter Garden’.
The House of Bavarian Agriculture in Herrsching looks even better!
2020 was the year again. The next renovation was due. Most of the seminar rooms now have a controlled fresh air supply. The recreation rooms were extensively modernised. The new library room is a particular highlight – a state-of-the-art conference room with a unique view of the agricultural history library.
Times are changing. The content, the methodology, the speakers, the participants. What has remained is the basic orientation as a rural college and vocational training centre. The aims and basic concept of the basic courses have also remained the same: an educational programme for young adults in agriculture, designed to equip them for future tasks in the family and on the farm, but above all in the state and society.
