Lobby @museum.de

The fire crackling in the stove, the aroma of coffee wafting through the air – these days, the lobby is a place to relax and enjoy a cuppa.

In Wunderlich's day, it was rather less cosy in here. The entire ground floor of his mansion was in use as a warehouse. The high ceilings even allowed an intermediate floor to be inserted, so that trade goods could be stored on two levels.

This room was accessible from two sides. A wide door opened into it from the archway. On the wall opposite – where the coffee machine now stands – there was a door giving access to the neighbouring property.

That property belonged to a family called Schnitzler – relations of the Wunderlichs. So Carl Ludwig Wunderlich had created a connection to the family next door... while incidentally ensuring he could fill his storeroom from two sides.

Wunderlich sold the house in 1804 – his new ventures required more space. A succession of owners followed: the merchant Lucas Faesch, the cigar manufacturer Adolf Friedrich Bader, the master baker Jakob Bucherer, and finally a Mr. and Mrs. Fehr, who ran a wine business from a building nearby.

Hermann Otto Fehr and his wife Ernestine bought the property in 1918 and planned to include an entrance from the street into this room. Take a look at your screen to see the plans. The new door is on the far left. But times were hard in the wake of the First World War and during the inflationary period of 1923, and the remodelling never took place.

After the Second World War, a master tailor called Alfred Wurth had his shop in here. The room was divided into two parts, with the customer area and fitting room probably at the front, and the stockroom at the back. The tailor had a goods shelf built into the recess where the door to the neighbouring house had once been. The small white door next to the stove led into Wurth's kitchen and living quarters.

During the refurbishment from 2016 onwards, this space was given a new look. Returned to its original size and with high-quality furnishings, the lobby now serves as a reception room and a retreat for visitors to Palais Wunderlich – and even as a private café and restaurant.