Hotel Esplanade (Berlin)

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Hotel Esplanade in the 1920s

The Grand Hotel Esplanade on Potsdamer Platz was one of the most famous hotels in Berlin before and during the Roaring Twenties . It was largely destroyed in an air raid during World War II. A small part is now integrated into the Sony Center .

In 1988 a new Grand Hotel Esplanade was opened on Lützowufer ( Berlin-Tiergarten ; then West Berlin ).

history

Esplanade-Hotel AG share of more than 1,000 marks from March 1921
Memorial plaque , Bellevuestraße 1 in Berlin-Tiergarten

The hotel was built in 1907/1908 on behalf of a property developer, whose shareholders included members of the dynasties of Hohenlohe, Fürstenberg and Henckel von Donnersmarck , according to plans by the architect Otto Rehnig on Bellevuestrasse. At that time, the construction cost around 23 million marks (adjusted for inflation in today's currency: around 139 million euros). The style of the building belonged to the Belle Epoque ; the design of the rooms contained elements of neo-baroque and neo-rococo . The hotel had several magnificent halls, including the Imperial Hall . Kaiser Wilhelm II organized his exclusive gentlemen's evenings here. The 1600 m² garden in the hotel's inner courtyard was also a special attraction.

Stars like Charlie Chaplin and Greta Garbo stayed here in the 1920s . Billy Wilder worked here as a dancer before he started his career , Marek Weber played with his orchestra to dance. From 1925 to 1937 the Barnabás von Géczy Orchestra was the house orchestra. During the Weimar Republic , the hotel was particularly popular with supporters of the monarchy; Out of consideration for their guests, the operators refused to hoist the black, red and gold flag of the Republic. During the time of National Socialism (1933–1945) it was rather avoided by NSDAP leaders; Albert Speer even announced the demolition in 1941. Before the assassination attempt of July 20, 1944 , the conspirators met several times in the Hotel Esplanade and waited here for the outcome of the attack.

Bellevuestrasse with the former Hotel Esplanade (left), 1973

In the winter of 1944/1945 the hotel was largely destroyed in a bomb attack . However, a small part remained almost intact: the imperial hall, the breakfast room, the stairwell and the washrooms. In the 1950s, in the midst of the rubble, this part was then used as a restaurant and for dance events, and later also for fashion shows. Even after the Berlin Wall was built in 1961, there was still moderate hotel and event operations next to the wall, as a film set. The house had to close in 1981 for security reasons. In 1972 scenes from the film Cabaret with Liza Minnelli were filmed here, in 1981 recordings for Die Bleierne Zeit by Margarethe von Trotta , in 1986 for Der Himmel über Berlin by Wim Wenders .

After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the remains of the hotel were placed under monument protection. This fact was initially not taken into account in the first plans for the Sony Center on Potsdamer Platz due to incorrect information; the planners wanted to demolish the building because it was in the way. In 1993, a spectacular solution was reached with the city of Berlin: The Kaisersaal was to be moved 75 meters and integrated into the center. This was made possible thanks to computer-controlled technology and an air cushion construction. The relocation was successful in March 1996, the costs for this shift amounted to around 75 million marks (around 53 million euros adjusted for purchasing power). The hotel's breakfast room, which has also been preserved, was dismantled into 500 individual parts and later reassembled. It is now used as an event hall and is part of the Josty restaurant , the name of which is reminiscent of the old Josty café .

History of the Grand Hotel Esplanade since 1988

The Grand Hotel Esplanade seen from the southwest over Lützowplatz . Next to it is Block 234 from Mario Botta .

In 1986 there was public excitement about the new building on the Dörnberg triangle . Before the foundation stone could be laid, a small wood had to be cleared. Then there were legal battles. Because of the feared deterioration in the quality of living, a tenant from one of the neighboring townhouses of the IBA building exhibition had a temporary construction freeze. The Higher Administrative Court ruled that the tenant is not entitled to a neighboring claim under property law . “Massiveness and monotony” of the building project could, however, have a negative impact on the immediate neighbors. Architect Jürgen Sawade spoke of a metropolitan facade, "honest and modern".

On May 1st, 1988, shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall , the Grand Hotel Esplanade opened its doors. On May 1, 2006, 18 years after it opened, the US financial investor The Blackstone Group bought the previously privately owned hotel. The new owners invested almost 20 million euros in the reopening of the hotel with high-quality comfort rooms and 40 individually designed suites. The hotel lobby was designed by the US architect Alexandra Champalimaud . The hotel is always the location of larger events, for example the kick-off of the international radio exhibition .

In autumn 2014, Host Hotels & Resorts , which specialize in hotel real estate, took over the Grand Hotel Esplanade from the Blackstone Group .

The Grand Hotel Esplanade has been operating as the Sheraton Berlin Grand Hotel Esplanade since January 6, 2015 . The contract with the hotel brand Sheraton , which belongs to the American group Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide , was signed shortly before Christmas 2014.

  • Garden courtyard of the “Esplanade”, designed by the garden architect Willi Wendt , photo probably taken shortly after the hotel and garden were completed around 1910

  • Tea dance in the hotel garden, 1926

  • Remains of the building (left) 1951; on the right the Soviet sector ( Lenné triangle ) - in the foreground Bellevuestrasse

  • Fragment of the Imperial Hall

  • Fragment of the breakfast room

  • Breakfast room, now part of the Josty restaurant in the Sony Center

  • Facade fragment

literature

  • Architects and Engineers Association of Berlin (ed.): Berlin and its buildings. Part 8: Buildings for trade and commerce. Volume B: Hospitality. Ernst & Sohn, Berlin a. a. 1980, ISBN 3-433-00825-6 .
  • Klaus-Dieter Wille: Hotel Esplanade. In: Helmut Engel : Berlin history landscape, places and events. Part 1: From the Brandenburg Gate to the Zoo. Volume 2: Tiergarten. Nicolai, Berlin 1989, ISBN 3-87584-265-0 , pp. 214-219.
  • Michael S. Falser: The myth of the European city plan and the shifting of its buildings. The Hotel Esplanade at Potsdamer Platz 1995. In: Michael S. Falser: Between Identity and Authenticity. On the political history of monument preservation in Germany. Thelem, Dresden 2008, ISBN 978-3-939888-41-3 , pp. 231-233 (also: Berlin, Techn. Univ., Diss., 2006).
  • Hans-Peter Doege: Here S. M. gave his men's evenings . In: Berlin monthly magazine ( Luisenstädtischer Bildungsverein ) . Issue 3, 1999, ISSN  0944-5560 , p. 32-38 ( luise-berlin.de ).

Web links

Commons : Hotel Esplanade (Berlin)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ "Alcatel Entertainment Night feat. Music meets Media “- flap the second - Music Meets Media. Retrieved September 1, 2017 .

Coordinates: 52 ° 30 ′ 36 ″  N , 13 ° 22 ′ 28 ″  E