Tradition & History
The Story of Lutter & Wegner, wine merchants with over 200 years of tradition
The venerable house of Lutter & Wegner was founded over 200 years ago, in 1811, on Gendarmenmarkt in Berlin. After a hiatus of about 40 years, beginning with the end of the Second World War and ending with the fall of the Berlin Wall, in 1997, Lutter & Wegner returned to its original domicile on Gendarmenmarkt, the historic centre of Berlin.
1811 – 1830
Foundation
The town house on Charlottenstraße 49 was built around 1780 by the architet Carl von Gontard. In 1806/07 the wine merchant Christian Sigismund Trenck took up residence and opened his wine shop. In 1811, the merchants Christoph Lutter and August Friedrich Wegner leased the restaurant on the ground floor, which enjoyed rapid success. In 1818, Lutter and Wegner were finally able to buy the restaurant outright and named it Lutter & Wegner. In 1827 Christoph Lutter became the sole owner. The restaurant had an appealing columned portal and several dining areas on the ground and top floors, and underground vault.
1825-1835
In 1835, the wine cellar (with a separate entrance) was set up in the basement, and it soon enjoyed an excellent reputation. Not only were the best sparkling wines and precious red and white wines from well-known wine regions stored in its countless barrels and bottles, moreover, the cellar also served as a dispatch centre for wines and culinary gifts. The adjoining dining room soon became a regular hangout for E.T.A. Hoffmann, a writer and employee of the Court of Appeal, and his Serapion Bretheren. It later served as the backdrop for Jacques Offenbach’s opera The Tales of Hoffmann, and is indelibly etched into German cultural history.
Another habitué was Ludwig Devrient, an actor at the Royal Court Theatre in Berlin. Apparently he first visited the wine bar of Lutter & Wegner together with other cast members one evening in 1825, after a performance of Henry IV. There he is said to have called out to a waiter: “Give me a cup of sack, rogue!” Unable to make sense of Devrient’s request, to be on the safe side, the waiter brought him some sparkling wine instead, which Devrient ordered regularly forthwith. Most likely Devrient was referring to sherry (as in “sherris sack”, the term for sherry,as used in Henry IV). Other regulars followed suit, and hence sparkling wine came to be known as Sekt.
1840’s | 1850’s
Over time more illustrious guests started to patronise Lutter & Wegner, such as Otto von Bismarck, who was a regular, as well as Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia. The superior quality of its cuisine and wines as well as its exceptional service, led William I, later to become the first German Emperor, to appoint Lutter & Wegner as a purveyor to the court of the Prussian crown in 1851.
1900
to the post-First World War period
The First World War and ensuing decade yielded no major financial losses. In the 1920s, it became a veritable stomping ground for poets and artists. After film premieres, directors and actors would swarm here from cinemas all over the city, as did the big theatre and cabaret stars of that time. Among the most famous guests to sign Lutter & Wegner’s guest book were Josephine Baker, Marlene Dietrich, the Tiller Girls, Claire Waldoff and Friedrich Holländer, for instance.
1930’s
and the Second World War
Despite its previous success, Lutter & Wegner did not survive the Second World War and the bombing of Berlin: it was hit directly by a bomb and reduced to rubble. What little remained of Lutter & Wegner’s premises reopened in 1947. The wine bar in the cellar managed to stay in operation after 1945, but closed soon after. Berliners had barely any time or money to go out and enjoy themselves. A prospective reconstruction was shelved, which meant that the venerable brand of Lutter & Wegner soon vanished from sight.
German Democratic Republic (GDR)
to the Post-Reunification Era
In 1975, what little remained of the building and the historical cellar were completely demolished during the restoration of what had once been known as Gendarmenmarkt, and now bore the name Platz der Akademie. After the German reunification, the premises on Charlottenstrasse 49 were acquired in the early 1990s by a private investor, who built a luxury hotel in its place. In 1993, as the foundation was being prepared and construction about to begin, archaeologists discovered an overturned shelf in the building’s basement. Some fire-damaged silver tableware, glasses and cutlery were recovered, which are now on display in the Neues Museum in Berlin. Another small display case containing additional artefacts excavated during that period are also on display in the Lutter & Wegner wine shop.
1997
Lutter & Wegner returns to the Gendarmenmarkt
The traditional brand of Lutter & Wegner, which had completely vanished from sight, was to be revived. In the early 1990s, a young man made it his personal mission: Josef Laggner, who had already restored a run-down pub on Schlüterstrasse, Charlottenburg (located in the former western sector of Berlin), and named it Lutter & Wegner, found this prospect highly attractive. Thanks to his initiative, a suitable location was found in no time at all: Charlottenstrasse 56, on the corner of Taubenstrasse, just a few metres from the original Lutter & Wegner. The building quickly proved to be the perfect place for carrying on the tradition of this historic brand, instilling it with new life and splendour. Following the total reconstruction of the former trading post known as Friedrichstadt, which was built in 1906, the very same address where E.T.A. Hoffmann lived and worked from 1815 until his death in 1822, this location has proved to be the perfect venue for our venture, as well as being a historical link to the past. Its immediate proximity to the Konzerthaus (the former Schauspielhaus) on Gendarmenmarkt, ensures that the locality’s past history and events live on.
Lutter & Wegner today
Lutter & Wegner’s stellar reputation continues unabated. Dedicated to tradition, the original domicile of the enterprise, with its restaurant, wine shop and Weinstuben, exudes a distinctive ambience. In honour of E.T.A. Hoffmann, who once lived and wrote his famous tales at this address, Lutter & Wegner named one of its Stuben after this great novelist and member of the Kammergericht, the Berlin Court of Appeal, and furnished it with works of art that relate to his stories.
Reopened in 1997, the restaurant with its 4 separate rooms offers space for up to 240 people as well as a further 150 people on the surrounding outdoor terrace, which has an excellent view of the Deutscher Dom, the German Cathedral. Today, guests can once again enjoy a selection of more than 750 premium wines from our fabulous wine list and premium traditional cuisine. Hard to find rare and vintage wines are some of the well-kept treasures we offer. In addition, the house's separate wine shop has a large selection of wines in stock that can be bought to take home.
Lutter & Wegner everywhere
Over the years, several more branches of Lutter & Wegner have opened in Berlin, thus continuing the tradition of earlier years, when numerous branches lit up the city. Hence, for many years there had been a Lutter & Wegner on Potsdamer Platz, and other Germany cities, such as Munich and Hamburg. Currently further branches of Lutter & Wegner can be found in the historic Alte Fischerhütte (Fisherman’s Cottage) on Schlachtensee, in the coach house of Glienicke Palace by Glienicke Bridge, as well as the luxury department store KaDeWe, with more branches to open in the future. Moreover, there are Lutter & Wegner restaurants in the seaside resort of Heringsdorf on the Baltic Sea island of Rügen, and the Austrian ski resort of Bad Gastein in the Hotel of Villa Solitude.
Lutter & Wegner Sekt
The sparkling wine that gave Sekt its name
After the Second World War, the erstwhile Berlin sparkling wine producer as well as the brand name Lutter & Wegner were acquired by the German conglomerate Oetker Group. Since then, Wiesbaden-based sparkling wine producers Henkell & Co. have been producing and distributing the well-known sparkling wine under the trademark Lutter & Wegner Gendarmenmarkt. A special bottling of Lutter & Wegner’s Riesling Sekt in premium quality is produced exclusively for Lutter & Wegner restaurants and only available to restaurant guests.