Villa Willi

Villa Willi

Former house names: Villa Willi, Haus Putbus, Villa Wende
Today: Villa Wende

Architecture: The house has only one floor, the wooden porch is simply structured and little decorated.

Year of construction: 1886

History/Owners until 1945: After Klünder’s “Strandhotel” opened in 1883, others also wanted to purchase building plots from the prince. The royal building authority gave up the old beach road in 1883/84 and had a road built (today’s Putbuser Straße). The areas on the right and left were parceled out and sold. When the street was paved in 1885, good conditions were created for the construction of new houses. In 1886, the first building to open was the Villa Willi, which was listed in the apartment directories in the following years as having 10 rooms and 2 kitchens and was owned by the Wessel family. In the 1920s, the owners changed frequently. In 1920, the Wessel family sold the house to Richard Berendt (sometimes also written as Berndt). From then on, it appeared in the directories under the name “Haus Putbus”. In 1927, the owner was Gustav Baer, and around 1929, Georg Schulz. In 1929, the Berlin architect Otto Wende bought the house at auction and renamed it after himself, Villa Wende. The advertisements now spoke of an “upscale family pension”. After Otto Wende’s death in 1938, his wife Elsa ran the pension. Elsa remarried and the advertisements now named Elsa Lissek as the owner.

GDR era: As a result of the compulsory expropriation in 1953 by the “Aktion Rose” (Operation Rose), the building served as a residential building for long-term tenants.

After 1990: In 1997/98, the Villa Wende was extensively renovated by the grandson Hartmut Callsen, the current owner. Since then, it has been run as an apartment building.

Present use: Family-run holiday villa with 7 apartments

Interesting facts/anecdotes: Villa Willi is considered the earliest example of seaside resort architecture in Binz.

Photos: Hartmut Callsen Collection, Binzer Bucht Tourism Collection

Text: Binzer Bucht Tourism