About the Haselau Country House
Our story
As a family business in its 13th generation, good cooperation is very important to us.
For over 300 years – now in its 13th generation – this traditional marshland farmstead on a small terp (artificial mound) next to the well-known Haselau church has been our family's home. As early as the late 19th century, a small tavern operated here alongside the usual diverse farming activities. Anne Wulff, the only daughter of the then-owners, married Heinrich Lienau in 1899. They took over the farm and founded the stallion station in 1906, which is now the oldest active station in the Holsteiner Verband (Holsteiner Association). This historical photograph likely dates from that time.
During the economically difficult 1920s, the eldest son Hermann took over the business, while his siblings, like many from the region at that time, emigrated to America via Hamburg.
Hermann married Anna Früchtenicht from the Seester Marsch. In 1958, the widow Anna Lienau converted the small tavern into a restaurant, and the agricultural part was reduced to horse breeding after fruit growing was discontinued.
In 1969, Otto, the youngest son, married Christa Wulff from Altendeich; they took over the business and converted the hall into a ballroom.
Under her direction, Lienau's Kroog became the Haselau Country House – a firmly established gastronomic institution in the region, and the horse breeding of the stallion station is also well known at home and abroad.
In 1986, the visionary restaurateur couple converted the former apple cellar into a hotel with eight rooms. Their daughter Maike trained as a hotel manager and their son Jan as a chef; both joined the family business in the 1990s.
In 2005, son-in-law Gunnar Mohr, a trained industrial clerk, took over the stud farm and horse breeding operation; his wife Maike remained restaurant manager. Chef and son Jan Lienau, supported in the office by his wife Saskia, a trained bank clerk, took over the restaurant in 2013 and renovated the kitchen.
In 2010, the hotel was expanded with four additional rooms in the neighboring sexton's house. In 2016, Daniela, a trained hotel manager and by far the youngest daughter, returned from the Black Forest with her husband, Christoph Dettling. She and her sister manage the restaurant, banquet hall, and catering; he, a trained hotel manager, is responsible for the hotel operations and has been since [date missing].
In 2019, his brother-in-law Jan Lienau shared responsibility for the Haselau country house with him. In 2021, all hotel rooms were renovated and an extension with eight rooms was built.
Just three years later, the ballroom underwent extensive renovation and redesign. With son Michel Lienau, the next generation is already actively shaping the future of the Haselau country house.