Political prisoners, mostly women, were housed in what would become the Wilmina, a new hotel that’s traded internment for tranquility in a surprising section of Berlin.
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The borough of Charlottenburg resides firmly in West Berlin. As do the former prison and court building transformed into the Wilmina Hotel. This is not where locals often expect a project like this one, more commonly seen in the former East. “It was hard to imagine there was still such a place to discover in 2010 West Berlin.” says architect Almut Grüntuch-Ernst, one half of the married couple that developed the building together as both owner and architect. “We found that really exciting.”
The court and prison behind it date from 1896 and had been vacant for decades when the couple found them. During the Second World War, women were imprisoned here, almost always for political reasons. After that, it was used as a juvenile detention center until its closure in 1985 and then forgotten, so to speak, until it was sold in 2010. In the meantime, the building once addressed Kantstraße 79 had entered the city’s list of monuments, further complicating any future renovations.
An investor’s idea of using the cells for self-storage was not realized. The couple — whose renowned architecture firm has operated out of Berlin for over thirty years — had another perspective. “If you look at the typology of spaces in architecture, the modular organization of a penitentiary is not dissimilar to that of a hotel,” says Grüntuch-Ernst. In fact, all over the world lock ups have gotten a glow up. The NoMad in London. The Liberty in Boston. Even a Four Seasons in Istanbul.
The question with such rehabilitations is always: how well does the hotel overcome its foundations? In the case of Wilmina, from the outside at least, it doesn’t seem there was much to turn the page on.
The beautiful façade of the main building is done in a High Renaissance style with certain details wrought in sandstone. In the historic gateway on the right, which used to lead to the prison and now to the hotel, now reads the word “Wilmina.” Upon entering you encounter a high, peaceful, open space.
“On our first visit, the place was very oppressive,” admits Almut Grüntuch-Ernst. “It was a gloomy, dark day, the place was abandoned and forgotten, and the weight of these heavy clouds of history was clearly felt. At the same time, we were fascinated by the fact that the plants here had simply been able to flourish without a gardener since 1985. And then there was this unexpected calm. We saw the potential for a place of voluntary retreat.”
Indeed, you enter the hotel with the noise of Kantstraße still echoing in your ears and the heat of the city still on your skin. But when you enter the courtyard, you’re struck by the silence. From here on, the area is reserved exclusively for overnight guests, and the view opens up to a beautiful, enchanted garden. A bee hums and settles on the white-flowering Japanese Anemone. Ferns, sheet and clove pepper grow next to it, vinegar trees provide shade and ivy entwines the walls. You have arrived at a contemplative place, an oasis of calm and greenery — in the middle of bustling Berlin. The architects have made the transformation seem effortless.
Beauty is all well and good. What’s most appealing about Wilmina is the extent to which it preserves its complicated history.
The path to the hotel’s rooms leads past the lounge, where inmates used to be admitted and had to hand in their last belongings. The original key cabinet is still hanging here, with the numbered hooks for the 70 cells at the time and old notes telling of their former use. Today it is a meeting place where guests can help themselves to fruit, coffee, tea and drinks in the well-stocked kitchen 24 hours a day.
During the transformation, the heavy cell doors were carefully upgraded to meet modern standards of sound and fire protection. Cells were combined and the small lattice windows from the past have become more generous with their views. The result is open, light-flooded rooms with stylish furnishings in straight lines, along with helpings of white and sand tones that feel friendly and inviting. Decorations include dried garden leaves and flowers encased in glass, a collaborative effort by the Grüntuch Ernst family.
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There’s a brand-new elevator, but it’s best to skip that and instead explore the stairwell and the corridors of the different floors, where you’ll find hinges, old handrails, hatches, doors from the 19th and 20th centuries…. With the transformation into a hotel, contemporary art has been added, such as photographs by Hans Christian Schink, whose theme of “light and time” is fitting. In front of the brightly whitewashed wall in the high-ceilinged room, a wonderful work of art made of Bocci lamps guides the eye upwards into the light. The opening in the roof is part of the modern structure. Placed atop the historical building, a new floor houses fully glazed penthouse suites and a unique roof terrace, forming a winning contrast to the historic brick.
“The new floor has also allowed us to reformulate the roof area as a recreational space,” says Almut Grüntuch-Ernst. “We were able to add an open space with a view over the rooftops of Berlin to the sheltered, green and enclosed spaces below.” The roof terrace also features a ten-meter pool with a partially glazed floor, through which the sunlight breaking on the water artfully disperses onto the lower floors, and through which guests below might see partly obscured swimmers gliding above. In any case, the transformation is thorough. The building is now permeable and bright. In the absolute silence here, only the view of the radio tower reminds you that you’re still in the capital.
Guests will undoubtedly enjoy Lovis, the hotel’s MICHELIN-rated restaurant, helmed by head chef Sophia Rudolph, before retreating back up to their rooms, looking out at the dark Berlin night sky, and potentially contemplating the fates of the whose lives were shaped here in the last century. They should think too of the Grüntuch Ernst family, who have made this project their own, and brought a new life to a place through the utmost care and commitment of a ten-year renovation — turning a page on the past without flinching from it.
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