The building’s history starts with its construction as the ‘Villa Waldpark’ on the Barenberg in Schierke in the year 1909. Not long after it was finished, it served as a military hospital during the first world war. With the war comming to an end in 1918, it was converted into a hotel under the name ‘Kurhotel Barenberger Hof’. In the year 1924 it was expanded by a dining hall and renamed to ‘Erholungsheim Barenberg’. From then on, it was run by the Deutschen Werke Kiel und Friedrichsort GmbH.
After 1945, ownership transferred to the Freie Deutsche Gewerkschaftsbund (FDGB), turning it into a workers’ vacation home. Initially, the name remained unchanged, but in the 1950s, it was renamed Erholungsheim Einheit and later in the 1960s, FDGB-Erholungsheim Hermann Duncker.
With the collapse of the GDR and the FDGB, the building lost its function, and without an immediate successor, it began to deteriorate. Today, it is owned by a Berlin-based investment group, which initially planned to transform the property into a luxury boutique hotel. The plans included 15 suites, 55 superior comfort rooms, and a wellness area with pools and saunas.
However, nothing happened as of today. The harsh weather of the Harz contributed to a very fast and extensive decay of the property. A lot of the structure collapsed, with missing floors or walls being a normal sight. Despite its current state, the community of Schierke plans to preserve and restore the local landmark in the future, although it’s becoming more and more challenging as time moves on.
