March 1970
Opening of a violin making studio in the Bodenstedtstraße 20 (Am Knie) in Munich-Pasing
When master luthier Ludwig Closner closed his business on the Landsberger Straße in 1969 to enjoy a well-earned retirement not a single luthier remained in business in the entire Western region of Munich. This gave master luthier Wolf-Dieter Fischer the opportunity to set up his own small studio on the Am Knie road in Munich-Pasing. The rent was affordable and both rooms were light, airy and well organised. He was also able to “inherit” Mr Closner’s established clientele and immediately had plenty of work realising after only a year that he would need to employ an apprentice.
Luthier Paul Lysen, who had known Wolf-Dieter Fischer since their time together at the Mittenwald School of Violin Making, was eventually chosen for this role. Three years later, Paul Lysen left to set up his own business in Moorenweis paving the way for Parisian Phillip Injeian to be the latest employee in Wolf-Dieter Fischer’s workshop.
January 1978
New premises in the Landsberger Straße 462 in Munich-Pasing
In 1978, Geigenbau Fischer and Phillip Injeian relocated to new premises in the Landsberger Straße which were not only considerably bigger but also offered the space needed for the training of two new apprentices. One of them, Wolfram Reiser, continued to work for Geigenbau Fischer for 23 years during which time he completed his apprenticeship and spent several years as a highly skilled craftsman before passing his own Master Luthier exam. During the same period, several other luthiers, now renowned in their own right, also worked at Geigenbau Fischer developing their skills and gaining a wealth of experience. They include Mechthild Jacobshagen, Hans Salger and Susanne Konradi.
Noise generated by traffic on the Landsberger Straße and its distance from the nearest railway station ultimately forced the business to look for other premises – this time close to Pasing railway station. A break-in coupled with the lack of security arrangements on the premises made a relocation inevitable.
January 1986
New premises on the Pasinger Bahnhofsplatz 4 in Munich-Pasing
It did not take long for customers to appreciate the convenience of the railway station opposite and the second floor location guaranteed a higher degree of security. Due to the increased value of our stock a security firm was also hired to monitor and safeguard the premises round the clock. Our highly specialised team continued to work together and included such valuable members as Georg Kastl, Sabine Rudzewski, Irene Modes, Karoline Schütze and Susanne von Bechtolsheim. In 1993 we were joined by Parisian bow maker Christophe Collinet who became responsible for making, restoring and repairing bows. Over twenty years later Christophe is still working for the company as a freelance collaborator.
Following continued growth Geigenbau Fischer became a limited company (GmbH) in 1999 and has been trading as “Wolf-Dieter Fischer Geigenbaumeister GmbH” ever since.
In 2001, Lena Fischer, daughter of Wolf-Dieter, joined the company as a fully qualified and experienced luthier. Like her father, she had studied at the Mittenwald School of Violin Making and spent several years abroad honing her skills as a professional luthier. When our master craftsman Wolfram Reiser left in 2002 to set up his own business Lena Fischer was given added incentive to pass her Chamber of Handicrafts (HWK) for Munich and Upper Bavaria master craftsman exam in violin making which she achieved in 2004. Since then she has been running the business in her own right, albeit leaving customer service and valuations in the capable hands of the “old master” Wolf-Dieter Fischer.
Whereas the business had previously focussed primarily on the restoration and repair of stringed instruments, it was now – under Lena Fischer’s initiative – going to give far greater emphasis to the creation of its own violins, violas and cellos.
Since January 2004
New premises in the Spiegelstraße 8 in Munich-Pasing
We soon realised that we had outgrown our workshop at the Bahnhofsplatz and needed to find bigger premises. Coincidentally, at about this time a new development was being constructed nearby in Spiegelstraße 8 which gave us the opportunity to specify the layout and design of a brand new purpose-built home for Wolf-Dieter Fischer Geigenbaumeister GmbH. By a stroke of luck we now have North-facing premises with large windows providing ideal light conditions for our work. The workshop is perfectly sized and remains conveniently located near Pasing railway station. The two master luthiers Wolf-Dieter Fischer and Lena Fischer and luthier Verena Langer make up our current staff.
