Polling

It is no coincidence that there are things in Polling which come together in such a fashion and quick succession unlike in any other village: shaped by its monastic history, whose legacy and structures still to this day dominate the landscape, the beautiful things in life have a long tradition. Under the aegis of the Augustinian canons in particular, arts and crafts experienced a heyday whose impact can still be seen today from the library hall, built in 1776, and the collegiate church.

Above the portal of the abbey, a sentence hangs prominently that the whole of Bavaria still refers back to: “Liberalitas Bavarica”. Originally intended to express Polling’s gratitude to the Bavarian rulers for their generosity with the church fittings and arrangements, nowadays it is employed more as a synonym for the Bavarian attitude of ‘live and let live’.

In actuality, Polling is as traditional as it is liberal: in fact, it might be the only village in the world where an internationally recognised Mercedes SL specialist restores the classic gullwing model, whilst next door a world-renowned member of the Neue Wilde is busy painting in the same place a creative cell of the Weilheimer jazz and electro scene once resided. A few doors down, the traditional-dress association meets in the immediate vicinity of the Thomas Mann House, in which the writer’s mother had lived. Just as Polling made its way, under the pseudonym ‘Pfeiffering’, into Mann’s Doktor Faustus, a path here, named after the novel, guides one to many of the settings used in the story. Along the way, one comes across another work of art: the Dream House by the American artists La Monte Young and Marian Zazeela, one of two works of the same name, whose companion piece can be found in New York City.

Church treasures, culture and traditions are celebrated in Polling. In particular, though, one respects and protects the surrounding natural world, which is soon to be enriched even further by one particular work of art.