History of the hotel

The family-run Hotel Garni “Zur Alten Post” in Lembruch and the Eickhoff/Jungblut family have a long history.

Master blacksmith Carl Jungblut owned a blacksmith shop at the intersection of Große Straße and Wagenfelder Straße in Lembruch. His son, Friedrich Jungblut (born 1862, died 1935), wanted to become a merchant rather than a blacksmith. Father and son had opposing ideas. A traveling merchant noticed the dispute and offered to take Friedrich Jungblut to Barnstorf for his apprenticeship as a merchant. Friedrich Jungblut completed his apprenticeship there in 1877.

After completing his apprenticeship, Friedrich Jungblut went to the island of Norderney every spring. There he worked as one of the first waiters in the famous "Giftbude" (gift shop). "In spring, I went with the ebb and flow of the tide, and in autumn, I returned with the flow of the tide in my pocket. The guests came with the flow of the tide and left with the flow of the tide!" he always told his children and grandchildren. After a few years, he had earned enough to buy an old farmhouse on the main road in Lembruch. In 1887, the current house was added to the old farmhouse.

In 1888, Friedrich Jungblut's agricultural and commercial building was built. Pigs, cows, chickens, and horses were kept, and the land surrounding the house was farmed.

A grocery and household goods store with a bakery was also operated alongside the farm. In 1888, the Imperial Post Office in Lembruch opened in our building, as horse stables were already available. It was also run by Friedrich Jungblut.

In 1907, the old farmhouse was demolished and a new large barn with stables and hayloft was built.

The bakery closed in 1918.

After Friedrich Jungblut, his son Heinrich Jungblut (born 1896, died 1978) took over the property and business. Due to the war years, the business was leased from 1939 to 1954.

The small farm continued until 1954. Daughter Gisela Jungblut, a trained retail clerk, married retail clerk Herbert Eickhoff from Marl on April 15, 1955, after the renovation and expansion – the post office premises were now also used as business premises. From then on, both ran the business. The post office closed in 1964.

When space became available in 1966, Gisela Eickhoff came up with the idea of offering guest rooms with a bathroom in the hallway. After all, many guests came to the business asking where they could stay. The first two rooms were built, and guests enjoyed breakfast in the "parlor" of the house, almost like family. After the overwhelmingly positive response, the attic was expanded around 1970 to include four rooms, but again with a bathroom in the hallway.

The next expansion took place in 1977: the old hayloft was converted into twelve additional rooms. These all received their own bathrooms with showers and toilets. The previously unensuite rooms were also upgraded to this new standard.

The first proper breakfast room was created in 1978 with 30 seats in the former warehouse of the grocery and household goods store, which was then abandoned in 1983. The premises were converted into a leisure and surf shop and rented out.

In 1989, the clinker-clad extension with three large holiday apartments was added.

In 1995, the eldest son (business economist Hartmut Eickhoff) died of cancer at an early age. He was supposed to take over the guesthouse.

In 1997, after his confirmation, Steffen Eickhoff (son of Hartmut Eickhoff) promised his grandparents that he would one day take over the business. Grandfather Herbert Eickhoff and grandson Steffen had always been a strong team.

In 2005, the surf shop was closed, and Herbert Eickhoff and his grandson Steffen built the cozy breakfast room we see today. At the same time, another vacation apartment was built in the old breakfast room.

In 2007, Herbert Eickhoff died unexpectedly, and Steffen Eickhoff, his grandson, took over his grandparents' business. Four rooms were renovated in the first winter of 2007/2008.

In 2008/2009, a former rental apartment was converted into a versatile, comfortable apartment or two hotel rooms.

In the winter of 2009/2010, two of the three holiday apartments in the 1989 brick-built extension were converted into five hotel rooms.

In the winter of 2010/2011, the 12 rooms built in the hayloft in 1977 were completely renovated and equipped with new bathrooms.

Due to the consistently high occupancy rates, even in winter, the inadequate heating system urgently needed to be replaced in spring 2012. The old, inefficient oil heating system had to make way for a modern gas-fired combined heat and power plant and a gas heating system. This represented a tremendous step forward in the hotel's energy-efficient renovation, reducing CO2 emissions, and lowering the enormous energy costs.

In the winter of 2012/2013, the attic of the main building, including its five rooms, was demolished and replaced with a new six-room building with high ecological insulation standards and no sloping ceilings or skylights. At the same time, a new fireproof staircase was built, and extensive investments were made in fire protection.

In spring 2014, the energy renovation continued with the installation of the first photovoltaic system.

In autumn 2015, the old kitchen was completely renovated, a new kitchen with a beer garden bar was built, and the beer garden was extensively improved.

In 2015/2016, the three rooms of the attic (hayloft conversion from 1977) were demolished and replaced by a new building with high ecological insulation standards and without sloping roofs/skylights.

In 2016, guests nominated the Hotel Garni for star classification. DEHOGA approached the Eickhoff family, who immediately submitted an application for three-star classification as a Hotel Garni and were delighted to receive the award.

In the winter of 2016/2017, the breakfast room was completely refurbished and then the small holiday apartment in the old breakfast room was completely converted and modernized into the first wheelchair-accessible holiday apartment in Lembruch.

In April 2017, Steffen Eickhoff married his wife Romina Eickhoff (née Burmester) and in August their daughter Charlotte was born.

In 2018, the Hotel Garni was awarded the Gold Medal in the DEHOGA Environmental Check. Six establishments in Lower Saxony have received this distinction. It stands for exceptional energy efficiency with low CO2 emissions, exceptional sustainability, a high level of regional produce, low waste generation, minimal laundry, and ecological thinking.

In the winter of 2019/2020, the energy improvements were further enhanced with the installation of another photovoltaic system and a power storage unit. The goal is to produce 99.5% of the required heat and electricity on-site using environmentally friendly renewable energy, thereby reducing CO2 emissions to a minimum.

In 2021/2022, the entire 1989 extension was demolished from October 1 to May 1 and replaced with a new building. The new building includes six large, comfortable hotel rooms (four with balconies) and a second fireproof safety staircase. The new building is again constructed using environmentally friendly timber-frame construction, and the insulation values of the outer shell are far superior to the required specifications.

In winter 2023, a third photovoltaic system was installed on the new building to produce even more electricity.