120 years after his death — Following in the footsteps of Max von Pettenkofer

On tour with Pettenkofer in Munich

A stroll through Munich will show how important the hygienist was for the development of our cities and society

Although most of us didn’t want to believe it, the Corona pandemic did not miraculously come to an end on New Year's Eve. No, even in the relatively new year of 2021, we feel the ongoing and omnipresent effects of the global pandemic and the measures to contain it in our everyday lives. For instance, the walk is once again enjoying renewed popularity as our only pastime.

Join us on the trail of Max von Pettenkofer in Munich. On the occasion of the 120th anniversary of his death on February 10, 2021, we will show you a new route where you can learn something about the important hygienist and pioneer.

Over the course of 3 stops and 36 minutes, we draw a little closer to the life and legacy of the hygiene hero.

Max von Pettenkofer´s Munich As an important part of infection control from Germany and around the world, we at Sterillium® stand for people who paved the way for us and strive to always keep their legacy in mind. One of these figures is Max von Pettenkofer, whom we would like to get a little closer to on a walk.

Keys, wallet, and an FFP2-mask

We trace the footsteps of the chemist and hygienist Max von Pettenkofer through Munich.

Who are we even talking about? Max Josef von Pettenkofer was born in 1818 in Lichtenheim near Neuburg/Donau, but he died — 120 years ago — in 1901 in Munich. He was a German chemist and hygienist. The Max von Pettenkofer Institute in Munich is named after him.

Alter Südfriedhof

Max von Pettenkofer‘s Burial Site

Our path begins where Pettenkofer's ended in 1901. His life's work? He was the first person in to confirm the connection between hygiene and the spread of epidemics. He was the first professor of hygiene at the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, and his findings were later connected to the development of European drinking water systems.

The Max von Pettenkofer-Institute

Hygiene becomes a science

In 1865, Pettenkofer founded an Institute for Hygiene at the University of Munich and became its first director. Today's Max von Pettenkofer Institute for Hygiene and Medical Microbiology evolved from this institute. Today, the institute carries out hygienic-microbiological tests for quality assurance in medical facilities.

The Pettenkofer-Monument

The Max von Pettenkofer Momument in Munich

We are heroes

We leave the institute and continue along the unusually tranquil Sonnenstraße through Munich on a straight path to Maximiliansplatz and our last stop on this hygiene ramble. The monument not only commemorates our public health pioneer, his legacy and work, but also our own future.

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A monument to hygiene and a future for us all

Max von Pettenkofer is a hero to Sterillium®

... and for you, too. As we look back on the history of hygiene, we realise that we ourselves are at a historic moment. It is now up to us to protect our city and our fellow human beings — not to stagnate, but to follow the paths that Pettenkofer cleared, out of Munich and into the world. In a global pandemic, it is not chemists, hygienists, scientists and nurses alone who become heroes, but all of us. We can all make a contribution by paying attention to correct hygiene measures and proper hand disinfection. Sterillium® can help us with that.

Munich Clinic Lecture Hall — **On the Pettenkofer-Tour through Munich**

**Max von Pettenkofer’s burial site in Munich**

Hand Icon Together — **Sterillium® strong**

The Alter Südfriedhof in Munich — **In the Alter Südfriedhof at the grave of Max von Pettenkofer**

Max von Pettenkofer (1818 - 1901)

Germany’s first hygienist

Pettenkofer defined and established the science of hygiene. He established hygiene as an independent field of medicine and also recognized related economic aspects. He developed a health technology that was used, for example, in the redevelopment of Munich. Munich owes its sewage system and centralized drinking water supply to Pettenkofer.

Portrait Max von Pettenkofer — Max von Pettenkofer

Use disinfectants safely. Always read label and product information before use.

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More than a bottle

Sterillium® dedicates a
walk to Max von
Pettenkofer (1818 -1901)

A stroll through Munich will show how important the hygienist was for the development of our cities and society

Keys, wallet, and an FFP2-mask

We trace the footsteps of the chemist and hygienist Max von Pettenkofer through Munich.