Apartment Verwalterinnenhaus

Ah, Werben! All over the country, you will find people whose eyes light up and smiles appear on their faces when they hear the name of this little town nestled between Hamburg and Berlin. Word has spread: located on the middle reaches of the Elbe River, surrounded by meadows and fields, lies the smallest Hanseatic city in the world. Werben insists on this title, because no one here knows of any other member of the medieval Hanseatic League that has fewer inhabitants today. Just 550 people live here.

Werben has a rich history – and was actually a member of the Hanseatic League for just over 100 years, which united hundreds of cities in the North Sea and Baltic Sea regions for the purpose of peaceful trade. Today, everyday life in Werben no longer has much to do with global commerce – on the contrary, it often seems as if time passes more slowly here. Newcomers in particular sometimes refer to this regionally typical deceleration as the ‘Altmark pace’.

It was no coincidence that such a small town was able to play such an important role among the major players of the time: Werben was the first place where the Order of St John – founded during the First Crusade to the Holy Land – established a branch in northern Germany. In Werben, the Order of St John naturally built a church and a house for secular gatherings, which is still considered one of the oldest secular buildings in northern Germany. To generate income, the Order of St John also ran a large estate, which included an administration building. This administrator’s house that was built in 1890 on the remains of a medieval predecessor and has been home to holiday apartments since 2025.

During the GDR era, the brick building was a residential and office building for the local agricultural production cooperative. After reunification, the administrator’s house remained empty for many years and changed hands several times.

Then something happened that has already saved several houses in Werben: someone came here during a tour on the Elbe Cycle Route and fell in love with the place. That’s exactly what happened to Aimée Michelfelder and Jurek Brüggen – and like many before them, these two were simply fascinated. So, together with other architects, they formed a kind of consortium and encouraged the city to transfer the individual parts back into joint ownership – among other things, owner-occupied and assisted living apartments, seminar rooms, a yoga room, studios and workshops are being created. Seminars with architecture students have already taken place here, and the site is to be revitalised in a variety of ways in the future.

But first, a group of architects renovated the listed administration building with extraordinary care and furnished six holiday apartments. They focused on traditional materials and conscious reduction, built with local craftsmen and conceived as part of a local cycle – anchored in the village, connected to the people. The furnishings are minimalist and well thought-out, leaving plenty of room for thought.

But first, Jurek Brüggen and Aimée Michelfelder renovated the listed administration building from 1890 with extraordinary care and furnished six holiday apartments. They focused on traditional materials and conscious reduction, built with local craftsmen and conceived as part of a local cycle – anchored in the village, connected to the people. The furnishings are minimalist and well-thought-out, leaving plenty of room for thought.

What to do

Swimming, canoeing and cycling in the summer. Going on bike rides where you hardly meet anyone. Watching deer, foxes and all kinds of birds while walking on the dyke or along the banks of the Elbe. Learn about constellations under a cloudless sky. And experience the otherwise sleepy town of Werben come alive at festivals such as the Biedermeiermarkt, the Kultourspur or the Open Monument Day.

Why we like this house

Because here, a combination of courage and madness has created something wonderful: Aimée Michelfelder and Jurek Brüggen dared to purchase the Komturei grounds and, together with partners, turn it into something that will hopefully have a positive impact on the entire town in the future.

This house is great for

Anyone who enjoys holidays where there is little explicit tourist infrastructure but plenty of space to be. Werben is a place in the middle of nowhere between Hamburg and Berlin, where time seems to pass more slowly – with Biedermeier houses, some of which have been tastefully renovated, while others still stand in ruins.

Sustainability

EV charging stations in the car park at the south gate of the Komturei; Public transport is an option if you have a bicycle with you. The train station in Glöwen (RE8 from Berlin) is 45 minutes away by bicycle plus 10 minutes by bus, and bicycles are allowed on the bus. Werben is also 20 kilometres away from Seehausen on the Magdeburg-Wittenberge S-Bahn line, which is easy to cycle.

Details

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