The Clubhouse
A good place...
The Clubhouse
This elegant villa at Harvestehuder Weg 44 was designed and built as a residence for the Bielenberg family by Hamburg's master architect Martin Haller in 1860. It was sold in 1901 to Gustav Müller, a coffee merchant and Consul of the Free State of Salvador. The site at that time was 14,000 sq. metres in area and bordered directly on the Alster. In addition to the villa, it boasted an old thatched farmhouse, cowshed, chicken run, duck pond and pasture for the cattle.
In 1911, Gustav Müller sold 4,000 sq. metres at the southern end of the site for development as tennis courts. He had the farmhouse demolished to make room for a hothouse and a summer house that was directly connected to the main building. He brought back Martin Haller to convert the villa to its present form, adding a touch of North Italian residenza di campagna with the open colonnade up to the front door.
All rooms not needed by the family were let during World War II, at the end of which it was requisitioned by the British military. That year, 1945, is probably when the history of the Anglo-German Club actually began because the British officers probably felt very much at home in this beautiful villa.
On its return to the family, the house was let for a time. But then, the City of Hamburg lopped off a large part of the garden and also the strip of land bordering the Alster, which was converted into a public footpath, reducing the site to only 4,117 sq. metres. Gustav Müller's heirs decided that the city might just as well have the rest and sold out. The city then let the house and grounds to the club.
In 1989 the Anglo-German Club bought the house and a lease on the site. This purchase will assure the club's survival for the next two generations.
The interior of the clubhouse comprises a large lounge with open fireplace, half a dozen groups of armchairs and a magnificent view across the Alster. This is flanked at one end by a bar with French Windows giving access to the terrace and garden, at the other by the restaurant with seating for 60 people and also overlooking the Alster. There is a second bar on the upper floor and two large public rooms which can be partitioned, as required, into smaller units.