Behnhaus basement
On the ground floor and upper floors, the Behnhaus is largely preserved in the condition it was in when it was built around 1800 as a neoclassicist merchant's house. However, the fact that the builder at the time did not construct a completely new building, but used parts of the previous structures, is now particularly evident here in the basement: the Behnhaus stands on the foundations of two medieval houses.
With the renovation and the resulting public access to the basement, the building's 800-year history is now visible. Coming from the lift or the stairs, you enter the oldest part of the building, a so-called stone structure (Steinwerk) from the early 13th century. This earliest stone building here is located a few metres away from Königstraße. It was accessed from the ground floor by a staircase located behind the northern arched entrance. Passing through this, you enter the former beam cellar (Balkenkeller) of the former neighbouring house. The wooden beams resting on columns with quarter-round moulded stones (Fig. 1) were replaced in 1928/29 by steel girders and the ceiling by a reinforced concrete ceiling (Fig. 2).
In the meantime, the building had been used as a museum and the medieval ceiling no longer met the structural requirements. In 1934, the Hanseatic City of Lübeck set up an ‘air raid shelter’ (Schutzraum für Luftschutzleitung) in the cellar rooms beneath the concrete ceiling (Fig. 3), and between 1939 and 1942, the Behnhaus was used as the ‘command centre for the local air raid protection authority’ (Befehlsstelle der örtlichen Luftschutzleitung).
After the art gallery moved back into the Behnhaus, the basement was used as a storage room. Numerous supply lines were installed here without regard for the historical building fabric and without consideration for its conservation (Fig. 4). The front part of the cellar facing Königstraße was probably rebuilt in the late 18th century as part of the renovation of the façade and front building.
The basement sections of the Behnhaus, which vary greatly in appearance and age, now serve different museum purposes: the stonework with the historic brick floor forms the new entrance, the bunker complex houses the visitor toilets and technical rooms, and the newest section facing Königstraße has been converted into an art depot. Glass doors allow visitors to look into the depot and thus behind the scenes of the painting collection.