Quiet elegance on Lake Constance, Seegut Zeppelin

Seegut Zeppelin is a special place: one with history, one with unspoilt nature, one of the few with access to Lake Constance, one that elegantly combines the past and the modern, one that is treated with respect. The Seegut Zeppelin is a place whose charm reveals itself without loud words, it simply rests within itself. The Fennel family has captured the genius loci of Seegut Zeppelin and, with the help of Plösser Architekten and interior design studio Linie Zweii, has created a breathtaking retreat.

The design is respectful, natural and understated

Hendrik Fennel

At the time when the famous Count was flying his eponymous airships over Lake Constance for the first time, the wealthy textile manufacturer Gustav Gminder from Reutlingen discovered the idyllic area around Friedrichshafen for himself. In 1907, he commissioned star architect Theodor Fischer to build him a villa for his summer retreat, had trees planted – and also supplied envelope fabrics for the Zeppelins.

What about today?

Zeppelins still fly over the lake, although for different reasons than back then. The trees have grown into a protected landscape park. The lake rests in gentle serenity. And the Gminder Villa sublimely preserves its quiet presence. It owes its new splendour to Sandra and Hendrik Fennel, who have turned the four-hectare area around the historic jewel into a natural refuge for travellers.

Where the Gminder family once resided, dined and cosied up, Seegut guests now dine on vegetarian slow food cuisine in the Pinus restaurant. Halls for business events or weddings are available on the upper floor. The rooms are located in the four modern buildings with glazed wooden façades and asymmetrical tent roofs. They lovingly embrace the villa like an elderly lady. The noble ensemble is embedded in a protected landscape park directly on the shores of Lake Constance.

We deliberately chose a timeless and simple architectural language that blends harmoniously into the landscape and has a village feel to it

Architekt Manuel Plösser

Sandra and Hendrik Fennel have developed a sustainable concept for the interior design in collaboration with Linie Zweii. It naturally picks up on the special location with its beautiful natural setting by the lake and its history. Natural building materials are used, which undergo an ageing process and are therefore allowed to tell their own stories. Real wood floors made of knot-free oak, silver fir wall panelling, woollen carpets, stone tiles and lime plaster can be found in the house, as can the Gminder linen invented by the Gminder family as a tribute to the textile manufacturer. For the furniture, the choice fell on walnut and oak joinery and well-known manufacturers such as Freifrau, Weishäupl and Horgenglarus: brands that are synonymous with longevity.

You just have to want it and believe in it, then you will succeed

Fotocredits: Seegut Zeppelin, Linie Zweii