Grand Hotel National (Lucerne)

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Grand Hotel National as seen from the pier
Grand Hotel National from the seaside

The Grand Hotel National is a 5-star hotel in Lucerne that opened in 1870. It is located directly on Lake Lucerne , with a view of the lake basin and the Central Swiss Alps. It offers 41 rooms and suites as well as four conference rooms and 22 residences, and has four restaurants, a café and a bar. The hotel building is classified as a cultural asset of national importance and is therefore a listed building.

history

Quai filling and construction

Until the 19th century there were only a few guest houses in Lucerne. It was only with the advent of tourism in the middle of the 19th century that the city government began to use urban planning measures to promote the potential of the location and the landscape. The right bank of the lake, where the lake promenade and the large hotel buildings are today, was marshland. In 1836, the area between the city and the Hofkirche was filled up, creating the Schweizerhofquai . The Hofbrücke , which until then had been essential for crossing the swamp, could be demolished. The long-established Lucerne family von Segesser von Brunegg recognized the signs of the times; the brothers Eduard, Placidus and Xaver von Segesser von Brunegg opened in 1845 the “ Schweizerhof ”, the first panoramic hotel on the lake. In 1859, Lucerne was connected to the still modest railway network, and tourism - still reserved for the upper classes of society - experienced a boom. The need for more appropriate accommodation for wealthy travelers quickly became apparent. The “Schweizerhof” and the adjacent “Luzernerhof”, built in 1865 by Segesser, founded the construction company Segesser & Cie with Eduard von Segesser's son-in-law, Alphons Maximilian Pfyffer von Altishofen (also Max Alphons Pfyffer). and bought land in the Unteren Halde. The city's requirements were clear: a hotel palace had to be built by 1870, which strengthened Lucerne's position in the burgeoning competition between tourist destinations. The planned building was of a unique dimension for its time: 84 meters long and 27 meters high and thus around half of the current building volume.

Opening and the Ritz era

Loan for 1000 francs from AG Grand Hotel National in Lucerne from April 1, 1904

After two years of construction, the “Hôtel National” was completed on schedule for the start of the season in 1870, but the looming Franco-German war thwarted a glamorous opening season - tourism collapsed. Only after the end of the war, shortly before the summer season of 1871, was the hotel able to fully start operating, the first director was MA Pfyffer. Due to the ongoing economic depression in Europe, the "National" had a difficult start; it was decided to change the management. At the end of the 1870s, César Ritz , founder of the hotel dynasty, took over the hotel. He increased the comfort of the house, perfected the service and landed a coup when he was able to hire the already legendary chef Auguste Escoffier in 1881 . Now the hotel was flourishing.

expansion

Ritz managed the "National" until 1890, when AM Pfyffer's sons Alphons and Hans Pfyffer took over the business. At the same time, the legal form was changed, the limited partnership became Grand Hotel National AG, with César Ritz on the board of directors. In the meantime, tourism had become more professional, tourist associations were founded and international networking was sought: Lucerne was still a pure summer destination, customers traveled south in winter. The newly founded tourist office published the first figures: In 1892 78,000 guests stayed in Lucerne's hotels and guesthouses, and in 1900 almost 140,000. In the (now so-called) "Grand Hôtel National" space became scarce, the decision was made to expand the building and in 1897 the dining room added to the east side was opened, the previous dining room became a ballroom . That was the prelude to further extensions and conversions: A large extension was planned, the «Nationalhof», designed as a heatable winter house - this enabled year-round operation for the first time. The wing was opened in 1900, and the year-round operation proved to be prestigious. “Apartments” were created for the first time - as suites , they became the standard in all luxury hotels. In 1910 the third expansion took place, the intermediate wing connecting the “Grand Hotel” with the “Nationalhof” was increased.

Belle Époque, world wars

Postcard of the Grand Hotel National

During the Belle Époque , Lucerne's reputation as a foreign metropolis was consolidated; up to 190,000 travelers visited the city with its then 35,000 inhabitants per year. The «National» was on the road to success, the investments had paid off. But in 1914 the First World War broke out, the number of guests collapsed, parts of the staff were drafted into military service, and the balance only recovered after the war. On August 22, 1920, the hotel became the backdrop for a historic event: Italian Prime Minister Giovanni Giolitti and British Prime Minister David Lloyd George met here for a special conference on the implementation of the Versailles Peace Treaty . Tourism flourished, and in 1923 the pre-war visitor numbers were reached again. But the global economic crisis brought the upswing to an abrupt end. Tourism only recovered after the Second World War , but its face had changed: Travel became significantly cheaper, the automobile led to an additional “democratization” of tourism - more and more travelers no longer saw Lucerne as the end of the line, but as a stopover. In 1954, Hans F. Elmiger, great grandson of MA Pfyffer and nephew of Hans Pfyffer, took over the management of the business, the number of beds had reduced from 405 to 300. In 1957/58 a comprehensive renovation was carried out, the facade was "purified" and the neo-baroque sandstone decoration removed.

Umberto Erculiani era and sons

At the beginning of the 1970s, the former palace was in dire economic straits, and rumors were circulating in the city that the hotel should make way for a shopping center. Then the architect Umberto Erculiani came on the scene. He acquired the shares in Grand Hotel National AG and presented a concept for multiple use: the house was to be opened to a wider public with shops and restaurants open to the public; Hotel operations were reduced and parts of the house were rented out as office space. At the same time, a new customer segment for solvent tenants was to be opened up with the “Residence Suites”. From 1977 the western part (the oldest part of the building) was rebuilt and two restaurants were built. The ground floor now had a continuous corridor and was accessible to the public. In addition, two night clubs were built in the neighboring building. The hotel entrance was relocated, the eastern section was expanded into a hotel wing, and an indoor swimming pool was set up. In the following years, 22 residential apartments were built in the western part, suites for longer or permanent stays. In 2001 the hotel business was further reduced, the hotel in the east wing has been run as a 5-star hotel since then, the west wing serves the "residence" concept. The international language school EF Education is rented on the 5th to 7th floors.

In 2011 the hotel company Rezidor took over the management of the hotel. The hotel is owned by Grand Hotel National AG, the tenant is THP Touristic and Hotel Projects AG. After Umberto Erculiani's death in 2016, his sons Umberto E. Erculiani and Raimondo P. Erculiani took over the hotel, and in 2020 Raimondo P. Erculiani became the sole owner of the National .

Famous guests

In the early decades, the “National” represented a closed, exclusive world. It accommodated many famous guests from high nobility and the monarchy, such as the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII ), Crown Prince Wilhelm of Prussia (later Kaiser Wilhelm II ), Empress Elisabeth of Austria ("Sissi"), the Shah of Persia , the King of Siam and the King of Romania .

On August 22, 1920, a special conference between the Italian Prime Minister Giovanni Giolitti and the English Prime Minister David Lloyd George took place in the hotel to prepare for the Versailles Peace Treaty . 1921 lodged an Indian Maharaja with 45-köpfigem wake of the "National". After the First World War, the “National” temporarily became a place of “comfortable exile” for abdicated kings, such as the Austro-Hungarian ex-emperor Karl I and the kings Constantine I and George II of Greece.

Famous artists were also guests in the "National", according to the French actress Sarah Bernhardt . After visiting a friend in 1923, Rainer Maria Rilke wrote: "Toute la maison sent comme une belle fille qui sort du bain." Hermann Hesse and Thomas Mann met on July 23, 1947 for supper at the Grand Hotel National.

present

Since autumn 2015, the Grand Hotel National has 41 rooms and suites in the hotel wing as well as 22 residences for longer and permanent stays. The entire length of the ground floor is open to the public and offers four restaurants “National”, “Klingler's Ristorante” (Italian cuisine), “Jialu National” (Chinese specialties) and “Franz” (Austrian dishes and Viennese coffee house culture in the afternoon) as well as the café César and the National Bar.

literature

Web links

Commons : Grand Hotel National  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. A – Objects LU 2018 . Swiss inventory of cultural assets of national importance. In: babs.admin.ch / kulturgueterschutz.ch. Federal Office for Civil Protection FOCP - Department of Cultural Property Protection, January 1, 2018, accessed on December 26, 2017 (PDF; 88 kB, 14 pages, updated annually, no changes for 2018).
  2. ↑ New start for the “National” in Lucerne. In: NZZ , June 4, 2003
  3. a b Crowned heads and “lavishly decorated dishes” In: Luzerner Zeitung , July 4, 2020, p. 28f. Online version of the article: Prominent guests, legendary bosses and top-class interiors: 150 years of the Hotel National in Lucerne - a look back and a tour. [Paywall] and photo series: It looks so chic in the Grand Hotel National Lucerne.
  4. Hotel National with new management. In: Luzerner Zeitung , August 19, 2011
  5. Raimondo P. Erculiani takes over the Grand Hotel National in Lucerne as the sole owner. In: Luzerner Zeitung , March 30, 2020

Coordinates: 47 ° 3 '17.3 "  N , 8 ° 18' 52.5"  E ; CH1903:  666553  /  211901