Früher: Strand-Hotel

Previous names: Strand-Hotel

Today: Grand Hotel

Architecture: Klünder’s “Strand-Hotel” was a Swiss-style half-timbered building. In 1883, it had only one upper floor and a nine-axis facade, with no projections or special design elements. It also included a separate restaurant building in the Scandinavian hall style with a veranda and beer garden. By 1886, the building had reached its final size of 21 axes and two upper floors.

The successor building, today’s Grand Hotel Binz, consists of four buildings that are connected on the ground floor. The facades are clearly structured by the protruding wrought-iron balconies and have the white paint typical of seaside resorts – a modern variation on resort architecture.

Year of construction: 1883

History/owners until 1945: Wilhelm Klünder opened the first hotel by the sea in 1883 on the site of today’s Grand Hotel Binz. The “Strand-Hotel” marked the beginning of seaside development in Binz, making Klünder the founder of the Baltic resort. Even after the hotel was sold in 1893, it continued to serve as a hotel or guesthouse until the end of World War II, with a succession of owners. Travel guides from 1896, 1905, and 1909 named Richard Conrad as the owner. In 1910/1911, Carl Schlundt recommended the Strand-Hotel. In 1925, it was C. Lokenvitz. In the 1930s (travel guides from 1933 and 1935), Albert König described it as “the largest and oldest house on the square” and “rooms with running cold and warm water, bathrooms, garages, and parking.”

GDR era: After the end of the war, the hotel followed the typical fate of many buildings: first it was used to house refugees, then it was expropriated, after which the ground floor was used as a summer restaurant by the FDGB (Free German Trade Union Federation) and as winter storage for beach chairs, as well as a residential building for the community.

After 1990: After being returned to its owners, it was sold to the investor, Strandhotel Binz GbR. The Strandhotel was demolished on December 7, 1994. After a lengthy construction period, the new building was opened on June 1, 2000, as the second five-star hotel in Binz and operated by the luxury hotel group Kempinski. Due to the personal bankruptcy of the shareholders of the owner company (Strandhotel Binz GbR), the hotel property was auctioned off in July 2006. On August 1, 2006, the building was taken over by Hotel Arkona Dr. Hutter e.K. and has since been run as the “Grand Hotel Binz.”

Current use: Luxury wellness hotel

Interesting facts/anecdotes: After the first road connecting the old village and the beach was built in 1876 (today: Putbuser Straße), Wilhelm Klünder built the first hotel near the beach – the “Strandhotel” – on the site of today’s Grand Hotel Binz. Wilhelm Klünder is thus considered the founder of the Baltic Sea resort.

Photos: Grand Hotel Binz, Lutz Grünke, Klaus Boy Collection, Binzer Bucht Tourismus Collection, Binzer Bucht Tourismus/Christian Thiele