The Imhof House - Hotel Castle Garden

The Imhof house, a tall narrow building situated to the north of the castle, is part of the entire complex of the earlier moated castle. In combination with the Balik-house, nowadays called the Buergerhaus, the Imhof House used to form a small closed courtyard.

The Imhof House of the present had many different names in the past, for example: Lehenhaus (Lehen=fieff) or Zehntenhaus (Zehnten= Tithe) or Abtischhaus.

The cellar- and roof beams consist of timber felled around 1589 to 1591. It is assumed that the Imhof house was built after those dates.

The entire estate consisting of the moated castle with pond, the Balik- and the Imhof house was a favourite subject for artists in the Leimenvalley.

For the next 300 years there were no significant alterations to the house. The only change took place in 1822: the main entrance was moved from the narrow side to the broader North façade and on the Westside a new staircase with balcony was constructed. In 1927 the earlier "Economy part" became a garage inside an existing barn with living quarters on the first floor.

The proportions and basic structure of the narrow, tall building with stepped (Dutch) gables have been maintained to the present day.. In the cellar there is a medieval well, and the front wall still shows evidence of a form of rendering (Besenwurf) typical of the turn of the century. (19th to 20th).

According to its floor plan the house can be describes as a terraced townhouse with a tall, broad gable façade, and narrow front façades. The fact that the Imhof house was originally conceived as a detached house, and has stood as such for 500 years, is unusual. The group of forecourt buildings, including the Balik-and Imhof house, was deliberately designed as an entrance area to the castle. The two north facing gable façades form the gateway to the castle. Freestanding houses with stepped gable, walled yards with battlements are characteristic features of secular buildings in Basel in the 15th and 16th century.

Since 1997 the commune of Binningen is planning the construction of a new complex including a new park with an hotel in the Imhof house. After an architect's competition, a referendum in the commune three years ago and a lot of patience and hard work, the goal is finally achieved. On the 23rd of March 2007, work began. The Garage was demolished and a new extension in the form of a telescopic building enhances the old Imhof house.