Tip: Munich Schleissheim Palace

Munich and a famous bee from Schleissheim Palace

In the municipality of Oberschleißheim, Waldemar Bonsels created Maya the Bee.

An excursion into the lush greenery of Schleissheim Palace Park is a must for every Munich vacationer and visitor to Bavaria (ENGLISH, ITALIANO, FRANÇAIS, DEUTSCH)

Schleissheim - Munich. A little over 100 years ago, a young man sat under a linden tree in the Oberschleißheim Forest. Bees buzzed around him on the blossoms of the wildflower meadow. Beetles crawled on the tree trunk, and a grasshopper—a slender green one with very long legs—hopped from a nearby branch. The aspiring writer became absorbed in observing nature, becoming one with the trees, the meadows, and the bees. He picked up his fountain pen and began to write: “The older bee who helped little Maya the Bee when she awoke and emerged from her cell was named Cassandra and was highly respected in the hive. Those were very exciting days because a revolt had broken out in the bee colony that the queen could not suppress…” (Cf. Waldemar Bonsels, “The Adventures of Maya the Bee,” 3rd edition (1912), page 4).

Schleißheim Old and New Palace - Photo: Helga Waess (Press Photo Archive)

And if you stroll through the lush greenery of the palace park and grounds today,

observing the cygnets or the colorful flowerbeds, it's easy to be transported back to the time of the writer Waldemar Bonsels.

With this fantastic world of insects, he became the voice of nature.

He gave a unique story to a small, industrious bee, which a few years later first flew into the hands of a publisher's editor and thus into the world of books and their readers. She and her friends from the meadow and the tree were given a literary voice.

In 1912, the first volume, "Maya the Bee and Her Adventures," was published by Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt in Stuttgart and Berlin.

"Maya the Bee and Her Adventures"

and in 1915 the second volume

"The Sky People"
A bestseller was born with the very first edition.

For decades, this little bee has delighted generations of children, parents, and grandparents. Her adventures have been translated into 40 languages.

Flowers in Schleißheim Palace Park, Photo: Helga Waess (Press Photo Archive)

Author Waldemar Bonsels (1880-1952)

... lived for just two years with his fellow writer Bernd Isemann in a villa at Schleißheim Palace. It was a very fruitful friendship artistically. At the same time, Isemann was working on "Nala and Re," a novel about an ant's friendship.

Thus, Schleißheim is the birthplace of a work that has graced countless children's rooms around the world and, after the launch of the animated series in the 1970s and the catchy tune sung by Karel Gott, once again became a bestseller.

Over 100 years after the publication of the first Maya the Bee book,

which is now highly sought after by collectors of first editions of children's books and traded on the antiquarian market (first edition: 3,000 copies).

Beer garden in front of Schleißheim Palace near Munich, photo:

Munich Excursion: Schleissheim Palace - Waldemar Bonsels

Excursion tip: Munich - Schleissheim Palace and the Maya the Bee Lime Tree for literary buffs

Waldemar Bonsels' children's book character, Maya the Bee, was born in 1912 at Schleissheim Palace just outside Munich. He later lived in his house in Ambach on Lake Starnberg.

Waldemar Bonsels wrote "Maya the Bee and Her Adventures" - take a vacation where the author wrote (Deutsch, English, Italiano, Francais)

Munich - Schleissheim - Ambach on Lake Starnberg. Over 100 years ago, in the 1920s, Jakob Ernst Waldemar Bonsels was one of the most widely read German authors. Over 110 years ago, a young man sat under a linden tree in the Oberschleissheim forest. Bees buzzed around him on the blossoms of the meadow. Beetles crawled on the tree trunk, and a grasshopper hopped from a branch lying around. It was a slender green one with very long legs. The writer immersed himself in nature observation, becoming one with trees, meadows, and bees. Maja was a bee from Schleissheim... The castle, the beer garden, a small museum, and the writers' linden tree are a must-see for visitors to Munich and Bavaria. 

Delicious honey from a summer flower - PhotoHelga Weass (Kunst-Kultur-Blog)

 

Waldemar Bonsels (1880-1952) wrote
"Maya the Bee and Her Adventures"

He picked up his fountain pen and began to write:

"The older female bee who helped little Maya the Bee when she came back to life and emerged from her cell was called Cassandra and was highly respected in the hive. Those were very exciting days because an uprising had broken out among the bees that the queen could not suppress...." (See Waldemar Bonsels "Maya the Bee and Her Adventures," 3rd edition (1912))

At some point, the author discovered a beetle on the bark and wrote sentences like:

"The bark beetle Fridolin lives with his wife and 50 sons under the bark of the pine tree. Even though people don't like him, Maya finds him very lovable." (See ibid.)

That's how it could have been be!

The Schleissheim Palace Park still inspires today.

And if you stroll through the lush greenery of the palace park and its surrounding grounds today, or observe the young swans in late summer or the colorful flowerbeds, it's not difficult to step back into the time of the writer Waldemar Bonsels.

With this fantastic world of insects, he became a voice for nature. He gave a small, industrious bee, which a few years later flew into the hands of a publisher's editors for the first time and thus into the world of books and their readers, an incomparable story. She and her friends from the meadow and tree were given a literary voice.

The first volume, "Maya the Bee and Her Adventures," was published by the Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt Stuttgart and Berlin in 1912, and the second volume, "The Heavenly People," was published in 1915.

And it was a success, for the first edition saw the light of day!

The first edition sold 3,000 copies.

For decades, this little bee has delighted generations of children, parents, and grandparents. Her adventures have been translated into 40 languages.

Grasshopper - Photo: Helga Waess (Archiv - Kunst-Kultur-Blog)

The authors 

Waldemar Bonsels 

and 

Bernd Isemann 

lived in a villa near Schleissheim Palace

Their author, Waldemar Bonsels (1880-1952), lived for only two years with fellow writer Bernd Isemann in a villa near Schleissheim Palace. It was a very fruitful artistic friendship. At the same time, Isemann was writing "Nala and Re," a novel about a friendship between ants.

The two writers bought a villa together in Schleissheim. Here, they sat in the garden and wrote insect novels.

Sounds bohemian!

To enjoy such intellectual freedom in 1910—and today, too—one had to have as much financial independence as possible, ensuring a secure daily life. A few years earlier, the two writers had founded a publishing company in Munich and ensured the necessary independence.

A book as a collector's item

105 years after the publication of the first Maya book, which is now in high demand among collectors of first editions of children's books and is traded secondhand, it remains as popular as ever. Soon after its publication, the little Maya the Bee was at home in countless children's rooms around the world and, at the latest, after the launch of the animated series in the 1970s, became universally known. And the catchy title song by Karel Gott also spawned new bestseller editions.

The eventful life of Waldemar Bonsels

But life sometimes takes a different path and is less "flowery" in reality:
Waldemar Bonsels married three times and had a total of five sons. Emotionally, or rather, in terms of his relationships, he never truly settled down—it seems.

 

He eventually settled on Lake Starnberg – in Ambach – where the "waldemar-bonsels-stiftung.de" preserves his house and his memory!

Bonsels - Schleißheim and a Maya the Bee Lime Tree

A new Maya the Bee Lime Tree ( Biene-Maja-Linde ) was planted at the writer's house in Schleißheim, just like the one under which Maya the Bee was once conceived.

May many more Oberschleißheim writers

be kissed by the muse beneath it!