Haus INSPIRIMUS was born from a lifelong dream: to create a space, a home where art, creativity, nature, and a sense of freedom and joy can come together. 

Founded by cellist and professor Xenia Jankovic, the idea took root in her early experiences at the special music school of the Moscow Conservatory and at Mstislav Rostropovich’s country house—known in Russia as a dacha—in the forest village of Zhukovka. This village outside Moscow, where Dmitri Shostakovich and Andrei Sakharov also had their dachas, was like a paradise for young Xenia: a place filled with beauty, inspiration, and a deep sense of artistic freedom.

It was there she first experienced what it meant to live through music: to play and listen with friends in these modest houses, to read poetry aloud, to walk in the forest, and to engage in conversations about art, science, and life. It was a place of love and respect—for nature, for creativity, and for the profound mystery of life.

Many years later, in the village of Ferch just outside Berlin, Xenia found the ideal place to bring this vision to life. The hills above the village are covered with forest and dotted with wooden houses that reminded her of Zhukovka. Down in the valley lies the lake Schwielowsee, with its Mediterranean charm—sloping houses, winding alleys, and quiet water—evoking the Adriatic landscapes of her childhood, especially the Bay of Kotor.

“The mix of northern forest with simple wooden houses, and the lake with sailboats, beaches, and small restaurants — it’s a magical combination. For me, this village is where North and South flow together, and where the Western (capitalist) way of life meets some of the positive and charming aspects of the former Eastern Bloc countries.”