"On both sides of the street there are mostly sober houses, mostly from the first half of the last century, those sad suburban types with smooth fronts without silhouettes and roof overhangs, monotonous, dirty-colored, but urban-looking houses for which the old, honest, proud local style of construction has been frivolously sacrificed," is how Julius Groeschel described Murnau's lower and upper markets at the beginning of the 20th century. This somewhat staid impression disappeared completely through the efforts of the "town beautification commission," which, under the leadership of one of Munich's most popular architects, Emanuel von Seidl, transformed the town into a "pretty market." With the help of his Munich friends, between 1906 and 1911, house fronts were painted, stall signs - the characteristic trade emblems - were put up, ornamental paving was laid, benches were set up, trees and floral decorations were arranged, and fountains were built. The whole main street was to be transformed into a harmonious ensemble and create a picturesque, rhythmic overall picture, similar to what Emanuel's brother, Gabriel von Seidl, had already done in nearby Bad Tölz. Success soon followed: there was a positive press response and friendly mentions in the travel guides of the time; more and more city dwellers came to Murnau to spend the summer here. Emanuel von Seidl himself had already built a villa on a plot of land on the southern slope of the town in 1901 and created a park, today's "Seidlpark". Enthusiastic about the unique location, he wrote in his book "My Country House" in 1910: "A picturesque village forms a charming foreground, while a chain of mountains, which deepen ever further like a backdrop to the Wetterstein Mountains in a wonderful grouping, round off the whole picture." Murnau was a welcome refuge for him and he called the land he had acquired his "promised land"! He also expanded his social activities to Murnau. He was involved with local clubs and supported their events, but also invited people to his own concerts, theater performances and lavish parties. Olaf Gulbransson, Julius Dietz and Franz von Stuck were his guests. In 1910, everyone was talking about William Shakespeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream", which Max Reinhardt had staged especially for the park. The young Friedrich Wilhelm Plumpe was one of the actors hired for the performance. He was so impressed by his visit to the town that he later changed his name to "Murnau" renamed. The whole world knows him by this name as a silent film director. His most famous films include "The Last Man" and "Nosferatu - A Symphony of Horror".