since the late 16th-century. The furniture was used mainly for large cold rooms and draughty indoor settings. Its use is known in both town and farm houses in the Netherlands and Germany, in the 18th-century such seating furniture were also found in palaces in England, Scotland and Ireland. Special designs When the 2007 G8 summit in Heiligendamm met in June 2007, the Marketing Department of the State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern provided a special beach chair manufactured specifically for the leaders of the eight participating states and the President of the European Commission to use for a final photo. These photographs taken on June 8, 2007 have gained some international notoriety. The beach chair is a good two meters high and almost six meters long. It was produced by the traditional Korb GmbH of Heringsdorf on the Baltic island of Usedom. All employees of the company were involved in the production of the chair, which lasted three weeks. It needed two kilometres of interlace, a cubic meter of timber, sourced from domestic pine, and 35 square meters blue and white cloth. The sun awning was printed with the respective country flags. After the event the beach chair was transported to different locations over some months as an item of interest for tourists and locals. Among other things, it was displayed in Berlin in front of the Chancellor's Office, at the Brandenburg Gate, and the day of German unity on October 3, 2007 in Schwerin. In November 2007 the beach chair was auctioned off in aid of the charity Ein Herz für Kinder ('A heart for children'). The founder of the Deutsche Vermögensberatung AG (DVAG), Reinfried Pohl, purchased it for the price of one million Euro. Since 2008 it is used for further fund-raising. References External links Official website of Sylt-Strandkörbe GmbH on Sylt in Germany (English version available) Official website of Korb GmbH in Germany (English version available) Official website of Belgarden Strandkorb Manufaktur in Germany (English version available) Chairs German words and phrases German inventions 1882 introductions 1882 establishments in Germany