Previous house names: The house name “Dünenhaus” has been retained since it opened and remains unchanged to this day.

Architecture: The Dünenhaus resembles a classic Italian villa. The wide central axis is topped by a triangular gable. The attic decoration features a relief panel measuring approximately 2.00 m x 0.60 m entitled “Summer”: A pair of reapers can be seen harvesting in the cornfield. The farmer is holding a scythe, the farmer’s wife a sickle. Two children, one carrying a sheaf of ears of corn, the other corn kernels, are presenting their gifts to Ceres, the Roman goddess of corn and agriculture. She is holding a wreath of flowers as a sign of fertility and eternal youth. Such relief panels were already being manufactured industrially in small series 100 years ago and could be ordered from a catalog.

There are two figures on the roof. One is Hermes, the messenger of the gods. The second figure represents Hephaestus, the Greek god of fire and blacksmiths.

Year of construction: 1902

History/owners until 1945:

The Dünenhaus was built in 1902 and appeared in the Binz housing directory a year later. Johann Lokenvitz was listed as the owner. This remained the case until 1914, when Mrs. Lokenvitz took over.

Willy Hedrich took over the hotel in 1920 and ran it until 1953. According to an advertisement from 1928, the Hotel Dünenhaus was a first-class establishment with a beer and wine restaurant and parking spaces. Especially in the 1930s and 40s, the guest lists included many prominent names.

GDR era: The Hedrich family was expropriated as part of Operation Rose. During the GDR era, the Dünenhaus was mainly occupied by NVA officers, and later by other tenants. There was a dance hall on the ground floor.

After 1990: In 1990, Willy Hedrich’s daughter regained ownership of the Dünenhaus and sold it to Arne Kurowski and two other investors in 1996. The house was renovated and reopened in 1998: there is a restaurant on the ground floor and vacation apartments on the upper floors. There were further changes of ownership until 2013, but the use of the building remained the same.

[Shortly after 1990, there was also a restaurant in the villa, as evidenced by an advertisement in the 1992 room catalog of the FVV Binz e.V.: Restaurant Dünenhaus Owner Edeltraut Zippel, Strandpromenade 23, 2337 Binz on Rügen, food and drinks right by the sea, telephone Binz 2841]

Current use: Beach villa with vacation apartments and restaurant

Interesting facts/anecdotes: There is a little anecdote about the house. In 1930, actors Willy Fritsch and Lilian Harvey, known among other things from the film “Die Drei von der Tankstelle” (The Three from the Gas Station), stayed at the Hotel Dünenhaus. Fritsch was one of the few people allowed to drive his car up to the beach promenade in front of the hotel.

Photos: Private archive, Binzer Bucht Tourismus collection, Binzer Bucht Tourismus/Christian Thiele

Text: Klaus Boy