Villa Sirene

Villa Sirene

Ostseebad Binz
Strandpromenade 11

Former house names: The house name “Villa Sirene” has been retained from the opening until today.

Architecture: From the book “Country Houses & Villas by the Sea – Rügen & Hiddensee” (Barbara Finke and Beatrice Pippia): For the 1912 bathing season, when construction activity in Binz had already slowed down considerably, Villa Sirene was opened as a lodging house. The elegant building, designed with stylistic elements of the Italian neo-Renaissance, closed the last gap in the southeastern section of the beach promenade. The crowning attic balustrade is striking and gives the building the appearance of a Roman city palace. Below the attic, there are stucco reliefs with sailing boats and a figure of a siren is positioned on the roof, which gives the building a reference to its location.

Built: Around 1912

History/owner until 1945: Villa Sirene was built in a prominent location, directly on the beach promenade, around 1912. In the following years, a Mr. Meier was named as the owner. He recommended the first-class house in 1925 as follows: … with a magnificent view of the lake and the Hochwald forest. Comfortable furnishings. Heating. Rooms. Electric light. Dining room. Pleasant garden. Valet at the station and steamer. …

The “Sirene” remained in the family for several years. In 1935, the widow B. Meier managed the house and particularly emphasized the following in the Binz travel guide “Praktische Winke”: … Very well furnished rooms with loggias and running hot and cold water. Recognized good cuisine, modern dining room, comfortable reception and reading room with writing room. Sunny, sheltered garden stay. Garage and parking, low season price reduction.

GDR period: During the GDR era, the Villa Sirene was used, among other things, as a residential building.

After 1990: After 1990, the building was extensively renovated. Holiday apartments and flats were created.

Present use: holiday apartments and flats

Interesting facts/anecdotes: In Binz, the story of how the house got its name is told. Originally it was to be called Poseidon, but the wife of the owner wanted to call the villa Sirene. So the figure of the muscular Poseidon was said to have been transformed into a siren by adding feminine curves afterwards. In fact, the figure appears to be more of a hybrid between Poseidon with a trident and a siren with a fishtail (from the book “Country Houses & Seaside Villas – Rügen & Hiddensee” by Barbara Finke and Beatrice Pippia).

Photos: Binzer Bucht Tourismus, Lutz Grünke, Binzer Bucht Tourismus/Christian Thiele

Text: Binzer Bucht Tourismus