On August 21, 1909, artist Gabriele Münter, a close friend of Wassily Kandinsky, purchased a house in Murnau, a mountain village 70 kilometers from Munich. Until 1914, Münter and Kandinsky lived in this house, known as Russinhaus or the 'Russian House.' They furnished it, created a garden, and decorated the furniture with their paintings.

Münter's house became a source of inspiration and the beginning of a new artistic movement, Expressionism. This place became a center of the avant-garde and a meeting point for artists such as Franz Marc, Alexei von Jawlensky, Marianne Werefkin, August Macke, and Arnold Schoenberg, as well as collectors and gallery owners. The almanac 'The Blue Rider' was created here, and in October 1911, working meetings were held to prepare it. Franz and Maria Marc, August and Elisabeth Macke also participated in these meetings.

With the onset of World War I in 1914, Münter and Kandinsky left for Switzerland, as Kandinsky, being Russian, was considered an enemy. In November 1914, he returned to Moscow, where he remained until 1921. Münter lived in Sweden from the summer of 1915 to December 1917, and then moved to Copenhagen. The surroundings of Murnau and the house itself inspired their creativity. They often depicted landscapes that contributed to the development of abstraction in Kandinsky's works. At Gabriele's request, the house was preserved as a memorial to their art and life and became accessible to the public after reconstruction in 1998/99. The house retains paintings and graphics by Kandinsky and Münter, as well as examples of folk art and painted furniture, creating an atmosphere of the pre-war era.

Münter returned to Germany in early 1920 and lived with art historian Johannes Eichner in the house in Murnau from 1931 until her death in 1962. In the basement, she kept a valuable collection of paintings, including works by Kandinsky and other artists of 'The Blue Rider,' saving them from destruction during the era of National Socialism. For her 80th birthday, Gabriele Münter donated this unique collection to the Municipal Gallery Lenbachhaus in Munich.