Couples who spend their wedding night at a tiny hotel in the German state of Bavaria will live happily ever after and never get divorced – at least according to a local legend.
At only 8.2-foot (2.5m) wide, the 282-year-old Eh’haeusl, or “marriage house” is so tiny that the entire building can only be rented out by one couple at a time, and its owners claim it’s the smallest hotel in the world.
It was built in 1728 by a resourceful Amberg citizen who, after the city council ruled that couples could only get married if they owned property, decided to build a house even poor people could afford – albeit on a short-term basis.
In order to tie the knot even if they did not own a home, a couple could buy the house, get married, move in and then sell it again.
Even today, many couples spend their wedding night at the recently renovated Eh’haeusl, now a hotel which costs 240 euro (£210) per night and includes a whirlpool and an open fireplace.
Guests Barbara and Heinz Wilhelm, a couple in their early 70s, said even though their honeymoon was long ago, the experience was one-of-a-kind.
“We stayed at lots of good hotels around the world, but there you’re just one guest among many others,” said Heinz Wilhelm. “Here we are the only guests of the entire hotel.”
