Country house right on the Havel

Our house is part of the Wiesengut Phöben. On the northern edge of the property is house P, the former calf stable. On the first floor is the spacious kitchen-living room of about 40 square meters. From here you can look over the terrace at the horse paddocks and watch the gray geese. In summer, the large terrace invites you to grill and enjoy the sunset. In winter, the fireplace is heated and you can make yourself comfortable on the couch. The space The story of the Phöben estate In the beautiful Havelland, less than an hour from Berlin, lies the listed Wiesengut Phöben. A 50,000 m² complex with its own harbor and 250 m of shore directly on the Havel, on the large Zernsee. With the “Haus Phöben” – also called “Wiesengut Phöben” – Wilhelm Büning had the opportunity to design a project as a total work of art, in which he involved colleagues from the “United State Schools for Free and Applied Arts”. “In the old Mark Brandenburg village of Phoeben on the Havel, a large brick factory had fallen victim to inflation. A desolate rubble site full of bricks and roofing shingles was left behind. The workers' barracks with a small house were makeshift as a farm building for the associated 300 acres of arable land and meadow. A desolate desert in the midst of a charming meadow landscape, which, interrupted by beautiful groups of trees, stretches to the gentle hills on the horizon, was taken over by the new owner [the Dutchman Bouke Annes Visser]. It took a lot of courage, idealism and an eye for the essentials to create a home here. According to the wishes of the client, a homely country estate was to be created, which blended inconspicuously into the landscape, combining all the comforts of a modern residential building, in order to provide the framework for a sociable country life without representation. A certain spaciousness of the whole complex was therefore required; one does not skimp on space and time if one wants to enjoy the quiet country life in cozy tranquility. The lake-like expanded Havel reaches far into the property with the two-pronged harbor basin of the former brick factory. The desire to unite the house with water and garden into a unit was the main consideration, and to unite the nearby old buildings necessary for the economy with the new ones into a group was another difficult point of the program. Thus, little by little, this seemingly arbitrary and torn floor plan of the entire complex came into being. The ring wall brings the whole complex together. A linden avenue leads into the residential courtyard, which clearly separates the residential and commercial buildings from each other, and, despite all the buildings being close together, keeps all noise and all nuisance of the commercial operations away from the residential building. The old houses form the core of the farm buildings, they were connected by intermediate buildings and merged into a unit with the whole complex by rebuilding the roofs. The residential courtyard is completed in the direction of the driveway from the garage with the dovecote. This gable construction is repeated several times as a mass on the kitchen and the farm buildings in order to give the long residential courtyard architectural support. Opposite the front door, an archway leads into the farmyard. After the water and garden is the group of residential buildings, the two-story head building flanks the avenue of linden trees and opens the windows of its bedrooms and living rooms to the south. The adjoining central building with the main entrance, which leads into a 13 m long hall, encloses the main living spaces. A wide terrace, partly covered, opens onto the garden and water. Two low kitchen wings with the boathouse enclose a small intimate rose garden. All buildings are unadorned and without ornamentation. They only appear self-evident and unpretentious due to their dimensions and good craftsmanship. They are neither "historical" nor "modern", only functional and well built. The only decoration is the front door, which is enriched by carvings by the sculptor Hitzberger. Inside, the basic character of rural comfort is preserved in the same sense. Rooms, corridors and staircase have well-balanced proportions. A strong staircase, also carved by Hitzberger, some fireplaces with handcrafted well-forged dishes and fireplace stands by Wilhelm Pruss [design by Wilhelm Büning] as well as the colored treatment of the rooms by the painter Dittebrandt show the understanding cooperation of the craftsman, who is a teacher at the Berlin Art Academy, where Büning teaches. In the dining room, an attempt is made to achieve a festive effect through wall paintings in order to elevate the room above the level of the other daily used ones. Prof. Adolf Strübe, also a teacher at the Berlin Academy of Fine Arts, painted the room on blue-green tinted walls in delicately coordinated colors with the help of Miss Mathes and Mrs. Vogel. Young men and women, flowers and animals are lightly and seemingly fleetingly thrown. The effect of the room is increased by fine balancing of the surfaces and safe settling of the tones. It is a remarkable example of the interaction of a free style of painting based on modern natural philosophy with strict spatial formation. The fine dark brown credenza and silver tables according to Bünings designs, which stand under the pictures on the walls, further enhance the impression. When creating the garden, which was created with the participation of the garden architect Wiepking, the difficult task was to solve the garden on the one hand closely connected to the house, but on the other hand to let it merge into the completely uncultivated river landscape without limitation. The solution to the beautiful task found here is exemplary in every respect. Source: wilhelm-buening Guest access For the arrival, it is recommended to use Bing Maps, as other providers often take a large detour. Simply enter Wiesengut Phöben. When you reach the Wiesengut, drive onto the property, leaving the parking lot to your right. After the large stable building on the left, drive directly to the left and 30 m straight ahead. On the right you will see a smaller stable building with 4 residential units. House 9b is the 2nd house from the right. Simply drive up, unload in peace and then later please drive the car to the parking lot. Less sheet metal in the yard is more! If a car barrier is installed here in the next few days, please talk to our neighbors. They will then open the barrier. Other things to note 1. Key safe The key safe is located to the left of the entrance door. The house key is in the key safe. You will receive the code shortly before arrival via the Airbnb app. 2. Fireplace Please use the fireplace only in winter. 3. Shower The shower room has a permanent exhaust. When showering, the exhaust air automatically starts up. To keep the area in front of the shower dry, it is best to push the shower enclosure only to the edge of the floor and not over it. 4. Dishwasher The dishwasher opens automatically when it is finished. This allows the humidity to escape. So, feel free to do it at the very end, before your departure, that's fine. 5. Washing machine The washing machine is located on the far left under the kitchen counter behind a sea pine panel. It works as always. The detergent is on the far right in the cleaning cabinet. A clothes rack can be found under the stairs (behind the right sliding door). 6. Cleaning cabinet + awning Here you will find everything for cleaning, vacuum cleaner, hand brush, mop. Also laundry detergent and rinse sponges. And the awning that can be attached on the courtyard side above the bench. With the carabiner on the steel post and then on the facade on the old gate hinges. 7. Alarm system We will turn off the alarm system before you arrive and turn it back on when you leave. You don't have to worry about it, even if it should flash yellow.