One of a kind - A breathtaking, unique blend of architecture and nature directly at the sea

When it became popular knowledge in 18th-century England that sea air and salt water could heal and promote health, the first seaside resorts began to flourish in the southeast of England. Stories of the therapeutic value to be found at seaside resorts also reached Germany thanks to physicist, naturalist, mathematician and writer Georg Christoph Lichtenberg. At the invitation of the University of Rostock, English travel writer Thomas Nuget visited Heiligendamm on the Baltic Sea in 1766 and was thrilled with the location. Physician Prof. Dr. Samuel Vogel put the final pieces into place at the end of the 18th century when he recommended that the Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin build seaside resorts along the coasts of the Baltic Sea and the North Sea. Today, he is considered the father of the German seaside resort. The first German seaside resort was founded in 1793 at the bay of Heiligendamm near the town of Doberan. The town was renamed Bad Doberan in 1921 and officially became a therapeutic spa destination in 2000. Nestled between the sea and old-growth beech forest and home to a picturesque bay, Bad Doberan became a highly sought-after destination during the 19th century with the rise of Romanticism. The “White City by the Sea” grew gradually over the years following the seaside resort’s founding and the fascinating mix of architecture and nature continues to enchant all who come here. In the mid-19th century, Grand Duke Paul Friedrich of Mecklenburg-Schwerin commissioned court architect Georg Adolph Demmler to build three new seaside resort cottages in English resort style. One of these was the Alexandrinen Cottage, which was built in a beautiful park on a cliff overlooking the sea to the west of the resort. The Grand Duke gave the cottage to his beloved wife, Alexandrine of Prussia. The cottage was built in 1841 and is situated on the western tip of the resort’s park, directly on a cliff overlooking the sea. The cottage’s enchanting architecture draws the gaze from the beach and from the sea. The cottage is beautifully integrated into the surrounding landscape facing the open sea with the edge of the forest at its back, creating a magical setting. Court architect Georg Adolph Demmler, a student of Schinkel and Schadow, was influenced by English garden design elements, which were contemporary at the time, as well as early Victorian architecture and Tuscan villas. The cottage was added onto by Schwerin court architect Emil Liß in 1911. The addition spoke to the higher living standards and representational needs of the grand ducal family of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. All of the work was done in the original style of court architect Demmler with the addition of elements modern at that the time. All work on the cottage has always been done with the utmost care, precise attention to detail and in keeping with the building’s listed status. Today, the elegant Alexandrinen Cottage is a protected monument waiting to be awakened from its slumber and filled with new life.