“It is not hard to compose, but what is fabulously hard is to leave the superfluous notes under the table,” asserted composer Johannes Brahms. A fitting sentiment for a man from Hamburg, Germany – the city of subtle riches. Despite housing one of the wealthiest economies in Europe, the cityscape of Hamburg projects a degree of modesty. Here, affluence is expressed not with ostentatious displays but with restraint – and an elegance defined by quiet details.
Like any great composition, there are, of course, crescendos. Take the Elbphilharmonie, a cathedral of swirling glass whose acoustic engineering has drawn performances from the world’s leading classical musicians. Or the city’s celebrated museums: the Hamburger Kunsthalle and Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg (Museum of Art and Industry), revered for their eclectic collections and bold architecture.
And then, more privately, there are the grand mansions of provenance that hug the banks of the Alster River. It is within the walls of these homes that we get a peak behind Hamburg’s composed curtain – a look under the table, where not superfluous but sumptuous notes are kept.
A property film by the newest members of Forbes Global Properties, Hamburg-based brokerage Doerfort Immobilien, offers such a glimpse, capturing the sophisticated style of a stately riverside villa in the leafy Winterhude district.
Born out of the creative fervor that swept across Europe at the turn of the 20th century, the 1,035-square-meter manse paints a portrait of an era defined by prosperity. Interiors are palatial in proportion and dressing, abiding by the Hamburgian recipe for elegance – style without a trace of pretension. Art Nouveau-inspired ornamentation and millwork are delicate, clearly at the hands of the period’s premier craftsmen. Visions of high-society soirées past and present fill the salons, reception rooms and terraces.
And yet the air of opulence never overwhelms. Moments for simpler pleasures can be found in hidden havens like a winter garden, a top-floor terrace overlooking the river and a pavilion on the property’s private dock.
Priced at €30 million, the listing is held by Josia Witzel of Doerfort Immobilien.
