History

History of the house in the Fischergrube 52

A bath house stood on this site from 1299 to 1308. In the early 17th century the house was owned by the city of Lübeck. It was later turned into an anchor smithy run by Nic H. Rohlfien the elder. The smithy was managed by the Recke family between 1830 and 1885; initially by the father, before the son took over the business in 1864.

Labour of love or should we say for the love of Lübeck.

This boutique Hotel has been the best address for art and culture in Lübeck for more than 40 years.

An artistic presentation of the heritage fassade of the Klassik Altstadt Hotel in Lübeck.

In 1978 the old historic town house was bought by the proprietors Family and run as a hotel garni, similar to a British bed and breakfast.

n 1984 the entire building was elaborately refurbished and old elements of the 18th century were carefully and immaculately restored. The late classical facade was lovingly reconstructed.

Restoring an old listed historical building in the old town of Lübeck was not only an extremely expensive crusade but also a very challenging one, considering all the building permission tackles. Unfortunately the mother did not live to see her accomplishment. At the age of only 46 she passed away two days before the renovated Altstadt Hotel reopened on the 27th of July 1984.

Her 22 year old daughter, Hilke Bünis-Flebbe, took on the inheritance and continued her mother’s dream of turning the little Bed and Breakfast into a small beautiful boutique hotel for artists and cultural lovers from all over the world.

n 1997 Hilke Bünis-Flebbe took the initiative to reinvest into the complete refurbishment of the hotel yet again. This time all the rooms were individually designed by her in a Hanseatic classical style. Having worked very closely with cultural institutions of the town such as the theatre opposite the hotel and the Heinrich and Thomas Mann institute, to name a few, as well as being the first little hotel to cooperate with Justus Frantz of the Schleswig-Holstein-Festival alongside the Northern German Film festival, Hilke Bünis-Flebbe turned her main focus on cultural guests and artists.

To document her classical approach and with regards to the period of the hotels façade, dating from the late classical period 1886, the hotel name was changed to Klassik Altstadt Hotel.

In 2002, as one of the first hotels in north Germany near the Baltic Sea, the 28 classical romantic rooms were named after famous historical people that have lived and worked in Lübeck. In the 18 single rooms, the cultural lover can find personal travel reports of the last centuries about Lübeck which were written by famous authors. Some of them describe their experiences and impressions, which they felt whilst visiting the Hanseatic city, very poetically. The 11 double rooms are dedicated to personalities from Lübeck, which have shaped the cultural heritage of the Hanseatic city and made it well-known beyond the borders of the city. Each room is an outstanding example of romantic elegance, comfort and true Hanseatic lifestyle.

In 2013 and 2014 all the bathrooms were redesigned and refurbished to meet all modern requirements. The former Maisonette-flat, was redesigned bei the Artist Günter Grass -who was not only a famous german novelist, poet, play writer, artist and sculptor and recipient of the 1999 Nobel Prize in Literature but also loved staying in the Klassik Altstadt Hotel. The Günter Grass-Suite is truly a rare gem in the middle of the heart of Lübeck.

In May 2014 the owners son, Alexander Flebbe, passed his exam for recognition as Bachelor Professional of Hospitality Management (CCI). At the age of 22 he supported the young Klassik Altstadt Hotel team, preparing to take over the hotel into the third generation.

In April 2017, the Klassik Altstadt Hotel, represented by Hilke Bünis-Flebbe, has become a member of the German Salonfestival.de.

Despite the challenges that the corona crises imposed on the travel industry in 2020,

the small family hotel still supports the local authors, by offering them a platform at the Klassik Altstadt Hotel for an online presentation of their latest books.

Our hotel motto:

Whilst honouring the heritage of our past we want to fill our traditional Hanseatic home with new und modern life” We hope to live our motto for many more generations to come.