Stefan and Tatiana Timmann bought and renovated a completely dilapidated 300-year-old farmhouse. Although the heritage office warned them about the work and the costs, they made it their mission to save the listed thatched-roof house in Altengamme near Hamburg. Today, they live and work in their “Haus Anna Elbe”, rent out vacation apartments and run a small restaurant in order to finance the preservation of the historic half-timbered house.
Stefan and Tatiana had previously spent years looking for the right farmhouse in the Vier- und Marschlande region on the outskirts of Hamburg. After many setbacks and rejections, they finally came across the 300-year-old Hufnerhaus in Altengamme on the dyke. Hufner was the name given in Low German to a farmer who owned one hoof, about 12 hectares, of land.
Tatiana was heavily pregnant with her third child at the time. And despite the urgent warnings from the conservationist that renovating this house from 1715 would cost nerves, time and money, the couple were determined to buy the dyke house. On the day the keys were handed over, their daughter Mathilda was born, who has been affectionately known as the “key child” ever since.
The farmhouse with the land cost around 250,000 euros. “The house was practically worth nothing. We only paid the price of the land on the dyke,” says Stefan. The building had been empty for ten years and was practically ready for demolition at the time of purchase.
The thatched roof was leaking, the beams and girders were rotten and brittle. Stefan and Tatiana spent a year clearing and clearing out the half-timbered house, while all the applications for listed building protection and subsidies had to be submitted and approved.
The renovation costs amounted to around one million euros. “It wouldn't have been possible without all the donors, the Monument Protection Office, the German Foundation for Monument Protection and the Hamburg Foundation for Monument Preservation,” explains Tatiana.
The two then renovated the old farmhouse from top to bottom. The roof truss was renewed, the thatched roof was patched and re-roofed, load-bearing beams of the half-timbered structure were replaced and the old stones were bricked back in, the house was gutted, insulated, beams were stripped of oil paint, walls were torn down and new pipes were laid - always with the aim of protecting the old monument. “Monument protection is one of those things: some people hate it, others love it. We were in the mood for an old house and wanted to keep everything as original as possible,” says Stefan.
Four vacation apartments have been created on the top floor of the farmhouse. The restaurant is located in the old barn. “The basic idea for us when we met was that we would like to have a café - a meeting place where people can have a good time and come together,” says Tatiana.
In the garden with its old trees, Stefan and Tatiana have built a village of forest huts that can be rented. When it comes to interior design, the couple attach great importance to the original and have collected many things with a history. A small mini-museum has been created in their barn with all kinds of historical items from the village or from relatives.
“The business was planned right from the start. If we want to preserve something like this, we have to earn money with it, that was clear,” adds Stefan. In the meantime, both have given up their jobs in advertising agencies and work full-time in and on their self-proclaimed “Haus Anna Elbe”.
A film by Caroline Berends (editor), Erik Hartung (camera), Tilo Burmeister (camera), Robert Soldan (sound) and Daniela Schramm-Moura (editor)