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Because we are proud of our past, we celebrate it accordingly - at the Week of Resort Architecture. With lectures, films and guided tours, tours, music evenings and light illuminations, painting courses, documentation and wind installations. The longing architecture of the imperial baths is illuminated from all sides. Literally.
19:45 Opening with Moderation & DJ
20:00 Presenting with nostalgic charm the gentlemen from the gas station Singing, dancing and acting from old UFA sound films.
Fascinating video mapping shows and static light projections
The historic facades of the Ahlbeck pier, the Ahlbecker Hof hotel and the Meereswelle hotel will be showcased. The installations will be until 15.09 September from 20:00 to 23:00 to be admired.
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The Berlin chic crowd was already drawn to the island and the imperial baths in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The nobility and elite could not resist the maritime charm, the fine sand and the salty breeze. Reputable rulers created summer residences, mansions and domiciles in the styles of the Renaissance, Classicism or Baroque in Ahlbeck, Heringsdorf or Bansin.
The style icons of spa architecture still stand today, with their whitewashed facades, small towers, curved gables and filigree ornaments, strung like pearls on a necklace. If you stroll along the kilometer-long promenade from pier to pier, you can still feel the splendor of the imperial baths' past - they are reminiscent of times when carriages still paraded through the streets, the emperor himself came on a flying visit, and there were still family, men's and women's baths existed and you waded into the cool water while still wearing your bathing suit.
Even back then, the Grand Dame in Ahlbeck, the oldest pier in Germany, was a magnet for visitors. And even today their wooden planks lead as if weightlessly over the shallow surf of the Baltic Sea.
And because we face our past with pride, we celebrate it accordingly: At the annual resort architecture week, the architecture of longing is illuminated from all sides - with lectures, films, guided tours, tours, music evenings, light illuminations, painting courses, documentaries and wind installations.
Every year at the Heringsdorfer Kaisertage on the first weekend in August we go on a journey through time into the long-gone history of the seaside resort. Even the emperor and empress personally do the honors at this street festival.
The villas and palaces of the nobility and the elite of the late 19th and early 20th centuries were built just a stone's throw from the Baltic Sea. Even today you can stroll past them between the Baltic Sea and the coastal forest. Incidentally, this chapter of history can also be wonderfully discovered on a guided tour.
With their columns and bay windows, turrets and balustrades, stucco decorations and outside staircases, the houses are reminiscent of a time long past. But every house, every villa and every residence has its own story to tell. From Ahlbeck to Bansin you can embark on a unique search for clues in the imperial baths.
Nowhere else is there such an abundance and variety of resort architecture as in Ahlbeck, Heringsdorf or Bansin. Whether it's a summer residence in classicism, a mansion in the Renaissance style, a magnificent palace in Art Nouveau or a fairytale castle in the Baroque period. In the imperial baths you will find a veritable hodgepodge of villas of different colors and designs.
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With their columns and bay windows, turrets and balustrades, stucco decorations and open staircases, the representative buildings are reminiscent of times long past. The imagination of Berlin's aristocracy and elite at the time of the last German Emperor probably did somersaults when they designed the magnificent villas. Whether it's a classicist summer residence, an art nouveau manor house or a fairytale baroque castle. They are all witnesses of a historical era that has become part of the cultural heritage of the imperial baths.
These two houses embody different construction and stylistic features that are typical of spa architecture. They have always had a special attraction for visitors. Both houses are unique examples of spa architecture and attract visitors from all over the world. Some celebrities also had their summer quarters in Villa Carmen when the Ufa film stars discovered Bansin in the 1920s and 1930s. The ornate stucco facade of Villa Carmen is a real eye-catcher and adds to the beauty of the surrounding area.
The “Pension Hintze” on Delbrückstrasse is one of the outstanding villas of classical spa architecture. It was built in the 19th century and, with its richly decorated facade, is one of the most representative houses of this era in the magnificent imperial baths. In 2000 and 2009 the facade of the villa was extensively restored and the house shines in new splendor. The villa is located slightly elevated on a very well-kept property on Delbrückstrasse, just 150 m from the Heringsdorf promenade and the fine sandy Baltic Sea beach.
At the beginning of the 1850s, Ahlbeck became more and more of a seaside resort. With the development into a posh spa, the businessman Albert Wendicke built the town's first hotel in 1875, “Wendicke's Hotel”. The villa of early spa architecture still accommodates guests today, albeit under the name “Hotel Meereswelle”. There is a public square with fountains in front of the hotel and it is only about 300 meters to the beach promenade.
Our “Grande Dame” is the oldest, still preserved pier in Germany and a landmark of Ahlbeck. The front platform was built in 1882. In 1898 the jetty was built, which is now 280 meters long. Since then it has also reflected the beauty of the sea and the coast. The pier has often been a backdrop for films and television. For example, the ending of Loriot's famous film comedy “Pappa ante Portas” was created on the pier.
The hotel, built in 1890, was not only the first house on the square, but was already a first-class hotel at the turn of the century. The first owner had big dreams. The architecture of the hotel should be exceptional, the rooms elegant and comfortable. Over time, it hosted notable personalities such as Emperor Franz Josef I, Queen Silvia of Sweden, Prince Consort Henrik of Denmark, Horst Köhler and the conductor Kurt Masur.
The Berlin banker Benoit Oppenheim had one of Heringsdorf's most beautiful spa architecture villas built directly on the beach promenade in the style of the Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio. The villa, built in the early 1870s, became a favorite motif of the German-American painter Lyonel Feininger, who repeatedly sketched it between 1911 and 1918 and reproduced it in woodcuts.
The pursuit of relaxation and recognition led Hans von Bleichröder to build his eponymous house directly on the beach promenade in Heringsdorf at the beginning of the 20th century. His father, the banker and financial advisor Bismarcks Gerson von Bleichröder, placed great value on status and lifestyle. When Hitler came to power, the family had to flee Germany in 1938. The villa initially served as a rest home for executives, then as a sanatorium for the Soviet troops and finally as a guest house for the Free German Federation of Trade Unions (FDGB).
On the massive desk, an open notebook filled with thoughts, ideas, visions; From the first floor, quiet piano cascades trickle down the old, crooked wooden staircase - the two-story Villa Irmgard takes its visitors on a journey through time right into the life of one of the most famous Russian writers of the beginning of the 20th century. Maxim Gorky lived, worked and recovered here for several months in 1922. Changing exhibitions and events take place in today's Villa Irmgard Museum.
Even today, the interior of the oldest café on the island of Usedom is reminiscent of the turn of the century. The beach villa, built in 1898, was the meeting point for well-known stars of Universum Film AG (UFA) such as Heinz Rühmann and Willie Fritsch. After the café had been in the DRR's trade organization (HO) for 1956 years from 34 through a compulsory lease, it was restored to its historic splendor after a year-long renovation in 1991.
The first lodging house, today's White Castle, is located on Heringsdorf's local mountain, the Kulm. In 1825, the chief forester Georg Bernhard von Bülow had the lodging house built on the 34 meter high sand hill. The architect of the classicist Bülow guest house was Karl Friedrich Schinkel. Not only the writer Kurt Tucholsky stayed in the guest house, but also Crown Princess Victoria of Prussia with her sons Wilhelm and Heinrich.
The villa, which was built in 1883, belonged to the councilor of commerce and entrepreneur Hermann Berthold, who modeled it on an Ionic temple as a single-storey building. The graces bathing are depicted in the pediment, whose mosaic was made by Antonio Salviati. The villa has had a checkered history and has had a number of owners. The villa was given its current name at a later point in time: in 1922 Elise Oechsler acquired the mansion.
The villa, built in 1873, was purchased in 1880 by the consul and merchant Wilhelm Staudt, who gave the house the name “Miramar”. When he died in 1906, his wife, Elisabeth Staudt, continued to run the company. In the years from 1909 to 1912, she received Kaiser Wilhelm II for tea in the villa, who came to Heringsdorf every year during his trip to the North. In the garden there is a monument to Kaiser Wilhelm I created by Georg Ferdinand Howaldt.
The oldest villa in Bansin, the Holzhaus Waldesruh, was acquired in 1920 by Friedrich Archenhold, director of the public observatory in Treptow. He actually wanted to call 115 acres of land his own and acquire the area from Schloonsee to Langen Berg, but this transfer to a private individual was not legally possible. Archenhold was known as a colorful personality, so he was said to come to social dances at the posh Hotel Atlantic in pajamas instead of tails.
The oldest villa in Bansin, the Holzhaus Waldesruh, was acquired in 1920 by Friedrich Archenhold, director of the public observatory in Treptow. He actually wanted to call 115 acres of land his own and acquire the area from Schloonsee to Langen Berg, but this transfer to a private individual was not legally possible. Archenhold was known as a colorful personality, so he was said to come to social dances at the posh Hotel Atlantic in pajamas instead of tails.
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The contemporary witness series of the imperial baths was created in 2023 and includes 10 videos. Each video documents the exciting and multifaceted history of the imperial baths in its own way. Some videos are commented on by historians and experts, while in others the focus is on images and music. In keeping with the theme of spa architecture, a video was created on the Bleichröder Residence and the Villa Irmgard in the Imperial Baths' Contemporary Witness Series.
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