Sleeping in a locomotive shed – an excellent example of the re-use of industrial buildings

The Ruhr area is not the only region with examples of the successful re-use of industrial buildings. At the beginning of October, I had the opportunity to spend a few days in Lund. While searching for a hotel, I noticed one which, according to internet information, is located in a former locomotive shed. With my weakness for old industrial culture, and especially for railways, the choice fell on this hotel. And it is definitely worth a blog post.

From 1906 on, the locomotive shed belonged to the railway line between Harlösa and Bjärred at the Öresund. The line made it possible, among other uses, to travel from the inland to the beach on Öresund, and on sunny Sundays up to 6,500 bathers went to the coast. The operation ended in 1939. Until 2008, the engine shed on the southern perimeter of Lund city was in disuse. An investor took over the building, found it to be in a state beyond repair and decided to reconstruct it largely true to the original. The bricks and other elements of the old locomotive shed were removed and integrated into the new building, which follows the original floor plan. The result is a building that has retained the character of the original. In the restaurant area you can look through two high glass elements, where the gates used to be, and it is easy to imagine how steam locomotives used to enter here. Beyond lies a cycle- and footpath following the old railway line.

Talking about steam: at lunchtime and in the evenings you have the opportunity to enjoy extraordinary meals in the hotel’s own restaurant. The cooks are very creative – it became clear to me when the dessert was served steaming with liquid nitrogen-cooled chocolate sprinkles.

Apart from architecture and cuisine, I find it particularly worth mentioning how open and friendly all of the hotel’s staff are and how obviously proud they are of their hotel.

More pictures of the hotel, historical photos of the railway operation and the condition of the locomotive shed before reconstruction can be found on the hotel’s website at http://themorehotel.se/en/about-the-lund-hotel/#historia.

On the last day of my stay, I learned during a conversation with Karl, one of the receptionists, that there is another More-Hotel in Malmö – in a former chocolate factory. Something worth exploring during a future visit.