A strandkorb (German, literally beach basket; Danish: strandkurv) is a special chair designed to provide comfort and protection from sun, wind, rain, and sand on beaches frequented by tourists.
Strandkorbs are predominantly used on the coasts of North Sea and Baltic Sea, as well as other coasts with strong winds. During the summer months, they can usually be rented from strandkorb keepers. Two different shapes can be distinguished, the straight angular North Sea variety and the round rolling Baltic Sea variety.
The strandkorb is said to have been invented in 1882 by German basketmaker Wilhelm Bartelmann in Rostock on request of a tourist from Warnemünde. In 1883, he announced the first rental service in a local newspaper. The first models were single seaters and appeared quickly on other parts of the German coast. Today's models are mostly two seaters with tiltable tops, some allowing people to lie down completely. They are equipped with armrests and footrests, storage space below the seats, rain proof covers and sunshades.
Thomas Mann refers to strandkorbs (using the words Strandkorb and Sitzkorb) in his 1901 novel Buddenbrooks, setting the context in the 1840s on the beach at Travemünde. It is possible that he had his historical context wrong, though that would seem unlikely.
At the 2007 G8 summit in Heiligendamm a specially designed strandkorb hosted the participating state leaders.
