The Voyage Kids

In the summer, you can find beach baskets on all German beaches. Have you ever seen one? They look a bit like huge armchairs. Like baskets, they are made of wicker.

The first beach baskets were built in the north German seaside town Warnemünde more than a 100 years ago, in 1882. The German basket-maker Wilhelm Bartelmann built the first one for a lady who was looking for a sheltered and comfortable place to sit on the beach. It was called a 'beach chair' and was a one-seater. Today, beach baskets are made for two.

The outside of beach baskets is made of wicker but the inside can be decorated with all kinds of brightly-coloured materials. Some are covered in stripes and some with multi-coloured fish. There are little, foldable tables inside which you can pull out for your lunch. The 'roof', or hood is flexible and can be let back to let in lots of sun or pulled over tightly to shut out the wind and rain.

Some people like to build a low wall out of sand around their beach baskets, turning them into mini fortresses. Sometimes the walls are beautifully decorated with pebbles and shells. Beach baskets become a bit like little houses during the summer season - most families rent the same one for the whole summer.

Did you know?

• Today, there are around 70 000 beach baskets on North Germany's beaches.
• You can even get special beach baskets for dogs.
• Some beach baskets come with seat heating.
• A beach basket has a life-span of about 20 years.

Links

This is what a beach basket looks like: www.strandkorb-petersen.de