Junker Haus

I took a trip to the Junker Haus in Lemgo on Saturday. Junker (1850 - 1912) was an architect, painter and sculptor whose most enduring work is the house he ... embellished in Lemgo (a village in Lower Saxony). After the basic structure of the house was built, Junker spent several years finishing the interior and exterior with ornate carving and paintings (inside). Being an eccentric, he naturally enough lived alone in the attic and charged people a small admission to come in and have a look through the lower two floors. Downstairs is the kitchen, his workshop, a kind of atelier and a salon. Upstairs is a formal sitting room, a dining room, a guest bedroom, a child's bedroom (with doors to both the guest and master bedrooms), and the master bedroom.

Besides the ornate beauty of the elaborate, gothic interior, the first sense to be awakened when you walk into the house (through a glass walkway from a newly-built reception area and small museum on the grounds) is the strong scent of wood. It's a comforting and embracing smell. You become aware that you're stepping into something living. The house embraces you - not only with the delicate tendrils and curlicues of the woodwork, but it also envelops you in its scent.

I was the only visitor in the house and the guide, a gnomish - but very friendly local woman - chatted with me about the place, and looked with bemusement as I wandered from room to room gasping with amazement and making strange humming noises of appreciation and delight. I guess she sees this a lot.