Between 1911 and 1913 the violinist Henri Marteau constructed a villa in Lichtenberg, the home town of his friend Georg Hüttner (1861-1919), who was a director of music. The villa, first built as a summer domicile, became his main place of residence for the last 20 years of his life. Marteau was a violin virtuoso of international standing and a celebrated teacher at various universities as, for instance, those in Geneva , Berlin and Prague .

As Marteau travelled extensively, Lichtenberg was situated in an ideal geographical position for the violinist: Prague , Berlin , Dresden , Munich , Frankfurt and Leipzig were within easy reach. A direct connection from Hof to Strasbourg and Paris as used by Henri Marteau still exists today.

The beginning of World War I caused a decline in the living conditions in Germany for Marteau. However, he kept teaching many young musicians in summer courses and single lessons in his home up to his death in 1934. Situated between Frankenwald and Thüringer Wald with their charming variety of valleys and plateaus, fields and woods, villages and small towns with warm-hearted inhabitants, Lichtenberg had a special appeal to the students.

The Marteau family, like many others, – and their Lichtenberg estate – were also affected by World War II: Marteau’s son was killed in the war. His widow, increasingly withdrawing from people, lived in the house until she died in 1977. Just one kilometre away from the villa was the Iron Curtain.

The heirs, primarily Marteau’s daughter, Miss Mona Linsmayer-Marteau, were keen to find an appropriate purpose for the house in the future. The problem was resolved when the district of Upper Franconia bought the villa with the help of the “Oberfrankenstiftung” and the district council passed the resolution to found a retreat for music and thus carry on the spirit and intent of Henri Marteau’s work.