about the house

        Das Haus, hier 1923

   

               Freya Frahm

   

 About the Freya Frahm Haus at "Strandstraße 15"


,The house at "Strandstraße 15” remained in the Frahm family (the 3rd generation) until Freya’s death in 2010. 


Her family’s history is outlined below:


Gustav Lage, Freya’s grandfather, was born in 1865 and grew up in Stein. He was a pilot. Gustav and his wife, Amanda, had a daughter, Herta, in 1892.  When she grew up, Herta married Eduard Günther, an honest man and important citizen. In 1918, Herta and Eduard’s  daughter Freya was born. Freya was a young girl when her father died at the age of 55.


Because of  the  early death of her grandfather in 1916 and the much too early death of her father in 1939  the house was led exclusively by women - grandmother Amanda, mother Herta and daughter Freya. They lived in times of peace and war. The women supported each other and lived sparingly. Their whole life was focused on the preservation of the house. The house itself experienced turbulent years through annexation by the Allies and by taking in  refugee families.

In the period of reconstruction, the garden on the beach side served as kitchen garden. In the 50's, they added roses and hydrangeas. Again the house became a meeting place for family and friends. They used to socialize on birthdays and happy laughter rang down from the balcony into the garden. Due to the local weather conditions and the constant wind, the Haus balcony was rebuilt, closing the veranda. 

 

In the last years of her life, Freya Frahm was concerned for her parents' home.   "This house on Laboe's promenade has been home to 3 generations and it has to be maintained and brought to life for the citizens of Laboe," was her thoughts and she chose to transfer the house of her family to the community. At the same time, she left a considerable amount of money for renovation and maintenance with the condition to keep this house  a cultural meeting place for the citizens of Laboe.


The community has adopted the legacy with the goal that the house serves as a multi-functional open meeting space of all generations. Diverse events in the sense of the testamentary disposition should "fill the house with life", to lead it with fresh wind into the future.