Eugene Hausler and Kurt Schaldach created the evocative European-style murals in the Memorial Union’s Rathskeller and Stiftskeller. An artist trained in Germany, Hausler started painting the Rathskeller’s bare walls in 1927 with input from Leon Pescheret, the Union’s French-born interior designer. Five decades later, Schaldach, a German painter living in Milwaukee, was commissioned to design and paint the murals in the Stiftskeller and to perform the first-ever restoration of the Rathskeller murals. Among his most memorable creations is the Stiftskeller’s Battle between Beer and Wine.

You’ll be happy to hear that the university is committed to preserving the historic nature and ambiance of Memorial Union during its upcoming renovation. When surveyed, students indicated that the murals, architecture, light fixtures and tables in the Rathskeller, Great Hall, Tripp Commons and other areas give the Union its personality and continue to resonate with alumni.