In the medieval city of Amberg, Bavaria, a 2.5-meter-wide building has been squeezing itself between its neighbors since 1728 - and today it operates as what may be the most intimate hotel on the planet.
There are hotels with three pools and a helipad, and then there is the Eh'häusl. Wedged into a gap in a centuries-old alley in Amberg, Upper Palatinate, this 2.5-meter (8-foot) wide building claims the title of the world's smallest hotel - and it doesn't share the space with anyone. When you check in, you don't get a room. You get the whole place.
Location
Photo by Margret Pirzer
Amberg sits in the Upper Palatinate region of Bavaria in southern Germany, a medieval city that has somehow held onto much of its original fabric. The old town is ringed by fortified ramparts, towers and moats, and narrow lanes cut through it in the way they have for centuries. The Eh'häusl stands on Seminargasse, a street in the heart of this old town - easy to miss if you're not looking, which given the building's width, is entirely possible.
A Marriage Loophole in Brick and Mortar
The story behind the Eh'häusl is more interesting than most hotels can manage. In 1728, Amberg's city council required any couple wishing to marry to demonstrate ownership of property - a rule that effectively shut out the poor and the working class from legal marriage.
A resourceful local spotted a narrow courtyard gap between two buildings on Seminargasse and saw an opportunity. He acquired the space, threw up a front wall, a back wall, and a roof, and declared himself a property owner. The formality was satisfied; the wedding could proceed.
The house then passed from couple to couple - bought before the ceremony, sold after the honeymoon - functioning as a kind of matrimonial relay baton for Amberg's less affluent residents well into the 18th century.
The name Eh'häusl comes from this history, a contraction of Ehehaus, meaning marriage house in the local dialect, though some etymologists suggest the word may have older roots in the Early New High German Ehalten, referring to servants or household staff.
The building had a close call in 1976, when one of its two neighboring structures was demolished during old town renovation works and the Eh'häusl collapsed entirely. It was rebuilt to its original specifications and has operated as a hotel ever since. A major renovation in 2008 brought it up to its current standard.
The Hotel Itself
The Eh'häusl is built on a footprint of roughly 20 square meters (215 square feet), with no side walls of its own - it borrows those from the buildings on either side. There is no reception desk, no concierge, no other guests. When you receive the key, you have the run of the entire building.
Inside, the aesthetic leans toward the theatrical rather than the minimalist. A fireplace with a glass screen anchors one of the main spaces, and a red-decorated salon - known as the Red Salon - gives the interior a certain operatic quality, underlined by the fact that Verdi plays softly in the background on arrival. A rainbow-colored whirlpool adds a more unexpected note.
The hotel comes with a flat-screen television, music throughout the building, bathrobes, terrycloth slippers and a hairdryer. It accommodates two people and is rented as a single, complete unit - there is no option to book part of it, because there is no part to book.
Beyond the hotel's own novelty, Amberg itself rewards some time. The old town is walkable and well-preserved, and guided tours are available if you want context for what you're looking at - including, should it come up, the fact that Josef Friedrich Schmidt, inventor of the board game Ludo, was born here on November 24, 1871.
Seminargasse 8, 92224 Amberg, Germany
