After almost 125 years in its original location, a dance hall has been relocated from Geislingen to Beuren in Germany, saving it from dereliction.
Civil engineers have a reputation for disregarding existing structures and indulging in a building frenzy. However, an unusual move proves just how wrong this is. What is remarkable about this move is that, rather than somebody packing their belongings into boxes, it involves a whole building changing its address: the dance hall and garden room of the former Wilhelmshöhe restaurant in the southern German town of Geislingen. The aim was to save the building – which was built in 1893 and was at risk of falling into dereliction – for posterity. The removal team included civil engineers and project managers from Drees & Sommer.
The destination for the relocation was an open-air museum – Freilichtmuseum Beuren – almost 40 kilometers away at the foot of the Swabian Mountains. The museum is already home to several historic buildings, which were likewise carefully dismantled at their former sites and painstakingly reconstructed in Beuren, using the original components.
