Scharoun House in Löbau popular for overnight stays

The Schminke House Foundation in Löbau in eastern Saxony has struck a chord with the public with an exclusive offer. The opportunity to stay overnight in the classical modernist building designed by Hans Scharoun (1893 - 1972) has been extremely well received, said foundation employee Julia Bojaryn. More than half of the available dates for 2026 have already been reserved until the fall. The chance to use such an architectural monument as if it were your own home "doesn't come along very often".

The Löbau pasta manufacturer Fritz Schminke commissioned the house for his family of six. The work by Hans Scharoun from the early 1930s is one of the four most important residential buildings of classical modernism in the world - together with Haus Tugendhat by Mies van der Rohe in Brno in the Czech Republic, Villa Savoye by Le Corbusier in Poissy near Paris and Haus Fallingwater by Frank Lloyd Wright in Pennsylvania. "We are delighted to be playing in this league," said Bojaryn.

"It doesn't harm the house"

According to the foundation, around 500 people stay at Schminke House every year, in the vast majority of cases for one night. In 2025, the "hands-on museum" had a total of around 9,000 guests, including an increasing number from the Czech Republic and Poland. Given its location in a rural area and in a town with a population of around 14,000, the foundation is quite satisfied with this figure. "Our target is 10,000 visitors per year," said Bojaryn. In 2019, when the 100th anniversary of the Bauhaus was celebrated, the figure was as high as 13,000.

For around 20 years, the foundation has been offering overnight stays in the classic residential building, including use of the Frankfurt kitchen, which has been largely preserved in its original state. "It doesn't harm the house," emphasized Bojaryn. On the contrary, she sees the offer as an "important instrument for communicating architecture", because guests can experience the unique feeling of living in the well-designed rooms. In view of the respectful and careful treatment of the house, the experience has been "very positive".