Regional delights

Agriculture at the Romantik Hotel

When Marie and Johann zur Brügge acquired the first inn concession in 1902, it consisted of only four tables and a small counter; the other part of the current Jagdhaus Eiden site was used for agriculture.

“At that time, a twelve-hectare farm was still in operation. On Sundays, when the weather was good for haying, and the inn kept everyone busy, we still had to bring in the hay on Sunday afternoons if a thunderstorm threatened. My father Johann zur Brügge and I would take care of that. When everything calmed down in the evening, my mother still had to milk five cows. By that time it was often 10:00 p.m. To prevent the little children, around 3 to 4 years old, from misbehaving, they were taken along for the milking. They would play around the cows and pick flowers.” This is an excerpt from the speech by Gerd zur Brügge, senior on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Jagdhaus Eiden.

In the years that followed, the restaurant business expanded more and more and agriculture gradually took a back seat until it eventually disappeared altogether.

For some years now, however, the business has been about getting “back to the roots”.

Chickens

Some chickens were the first step in our return to farming. Our ladies provide you with your daily egg, which you will find on our plentiful breakfast buffet.

Chef in the vegetable garden of the Romantik Hotel Jagdhaus Eiden in Bad Zwischenahn

Vegetable & herb garden, greenhouse

Furthermore, crunchy salads, fragrant herbs and all sorts of other plants from A for artichokes to Z for zucchini are grown in our herb and vegetable garden:

Kohlrabi, kale, green beans, salsify, pumpkin, zucchini, sweet potatoes, raspberries, strawberries, currants, peas, carrots, fennel, cauliflower, broccoli, Jerusalem artichoke, cucumber, various edible flowers such as marigolds, nasturtium, horned violets, borage flowers, olive herb, tarragon, lavender, thyme, rosemary, sage, peppermint, basil, chervil, chives, verbena, hyssop and much more…

A greenhouse was added in 2017, in which nightshade plants thrive – in particular numerous delicious varieties of tomatoes, from sweet to refreshing and sour.

Potato field

These versatile tubers grow in our potato field and are boiled, fried, steamed or mashed afterwards.
Home-grown tastes best? Anyone who fancies getting stuck in is welcome to assist our gardener at harvest time.

Wine

The zur Brügge family originally farmed. After they gave up farming, the farmland was leased out - on Wiefelsteder Straße, about 500 metres from the house. Today it has become a vineyard. The area, known as ‘Pastoors Kamp’, is located on a high-lying Esch soil, which has proven to be ideal for viticulture.

In 2016, we applied for a licence after the first vineyards were designated in Lower Saxony. We planted Muscaris and Solaris vines on the authorised 0.36 hectares - robust varieties that made it easier to get started. With a licence for the entire 1.2 hectare area, Pinot Blanc vines followed in 2021 and further Solaris, Muscaris and Pinot Noir vines in 2022. Now we are also venturing into red wine - we expect the first bottling in 2025.

Our garden on your plate.

Make the most of our restaurants

You will find home-grown delicacies in the Apicius gourmet restaurant, and you will also find our harvest in the game and fish restaurants, for example in the form of salads on the half board entrée buffet, as a side dish or the main focus of one of the other delicacies that our chefs create for you.