Hotel Stefanie

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Hotel Stefanie

The Hotel Stefanie is located in the 2nd district of Vienna , Leopoldstadt , on Taborstrasse . It is a four-star - Hotel and the oldest existing hotel in Vienna .

history

15th to 19th century

The Taborstraße was since the beginning of the 15th century, the entrance to the city from the north-eastern parts of the Habsburg monarchy in the center of the imperial city of Vienna. It was of particular importance as a main thoroughfare and trade route , as today's Schwedenbrücke , which flows directly into Taborstrasse, was for centuries (1368 to 1782) the only one that connected the Inner City with the Lower Werd, as Leopoldstadt was formerly called.

In 1433, Duke Albrecht V of Austria had ordered that travelers staying in inns had to stay overnight. As a consequence - and since the rush of travelers at the connecting bridge to the (inner) city was enormous - a considerable number of accommodation establishments settled in Taborstrasse in particular. Even travelers who arrived on the early mainstream of the Danube (today: Danube Canal ) often spent the night - because it was cheaper here - in the inns outside the city walls.

The property at the location of today's Hotel Stefanie was owned by Anna, née Weispacher, and her husband Hans Haringseer: a merchant, councilor, city judge and later mayor of Vienna (1444–1446).

After that, the property changed hands frequently before it was acquired by Christoff Freischlag and his wife Margaretha on July 8, 1600: On this date, the first documented mention of a "host" at the location of today's Hotel Stefanie took place.

"Christoff Freischlag host Burger zu Wienn, and Margaretha his married household, have received Nuz and Gwör aines Haus Stadtl vnnd Garten, Im Vndern Werth, next to Melchiorn Reiser vnnd Wolffen Auer Haus vnnd Garten, the Lenng from the Obern Weeg (...) in the hinder alleys 215 Daumb Eln, in the Prait at the Obern Strassn 40, at the other place 25 Daumb Eln. (...) Actum the eighth July Anno 1600 /. "- GRUNDBUCH, 1600

In 1621 the inn belonged to "Wolff Ernst (...) vnd Margaretha seine Eheliche Hausfraw" and was first called "To the White Roses".

The “White Rose” - later the Hotel Stefanie - was soon one of the best accommodation establishments in the capital and royal seat of Vienna: It can be found around 1779 in the “Directory of public and most famous inns and retreats where you can stay with or without a car can be."

The competition was fierce, because at the beginning of Taborstraße there was one inn after the other: around 1830 there were no fewer than eight accommodation establishments in the immediate vicinity.

Of the around 35 public hostels that existed in the inner city and the suburbs around the middle of the 19th century, only five remain today - besides the Hotel Stefanie. However, the Hotel Stefanie, previously called "Zur Weißen Rose", is the only one that has been consistently mentioned in the house directories for 400 years.

The guests of the "White Rose" came mainly from the crown lands of the Danube monarchy ; some also arrived from abroad: from the German Empire, the Principality of Moldova, from Italy, France and the Russian Empire.

The majority of the guests of the "White Rose" at that time consisted of merchants and manufacturers. In the “ foreigners sheet of the imperial and royal capital Vienna ” around 1850 there are also other high-ranking groups of people who stayed in the “White Rose”: including a considerable number of landowners, numerous civil servants, many senior military personnel, some bankers, pastors and lawyers as well as several councilors and doctors. When the Reichstag was held in Vienna in 1848 , there was evidence that at least two of the deputies moved into the “White Rose” inn.

Business was probably going very well, as the inn had been expanded in the spring of 1829 to such an extent that four years later it had a total of 90 horse parking spaces. However, the consent of the residents had to be obtained before construction began. The neighbors of the "White Rose", Chrysogonus Pischl, Prior of the Convent of the Merciful Brothers , and Magdalena Schuh, house owner No. 322, declared themselves "in agreement with this building" after the then owner of the inn, Franz Richardt, had committed to it that the “adjoining monastery (through the construction no) disadvantages (would arise), furthermore against these conditions that the novitiate window no light is deprived, and the (newly) installed gutter (...) is performed so that (...) none Influence of moisture on the (...) masonry peculiar to the Convent of the Brothers of Mercy. "

After the renovation, the stagecoach and freight transport by horse and cart reached their peak. However, due to the competition from the railways that began a few years later , the large number of horse parking spaces was soon no longer required on this scale.

In addition, the Vienna city walls were torn down between 1858 and 1864 after Leopoldstadt was incorporated into Vienna as the 2nd district in 1850. As a result, the guests were now able to get to the historic center of Vienna - and vice versa - in just a few minutes on foot from the hotel "Weisse Rose" without having to go through a passport or toll station . This facilitation of freedom of travel was most likely accompanied by a further influx of guests.

In order to cope with this onslaught, the owners of the "White Rose" at the time, the Schröder couple, made considerable structural efforts: Josefa and Johann Schröder built up to 1856 according to the plans of their predecessor Georg Pein, who had already added three floors to the alley wing in 1838 In 1859 the left front wing was extended to three storeys. In 1872 they had all the horse stables in the rear wing, seen from the Grosse Mohrengasse on the right, torn down. A porter's lodge and apartment were built in its place. The previously ground level building was extended by three floors and also made usable for hotel purposes. A bar was set up at the front of the Grosse Mohrengasse.

From 1888: owned by the Witzmann-Schick family

A new era dawned in 1888: In that year the hotel was acquired by Carl [also: Karl] Witzmann (born January 3, 1857 in Vöslau , † March 22, 1911 in Vienna ) - the great-grandfather of the current owner.

In reminiscence of the marriage of Crown Prince Rudolf and Stephanie of Belgium , the hotel was renamed "Hotel Stefanie" in the same year, 1888. At that time, the hotel had 110 guest rooms and was one of the largest hotels in Vienna.

Immediately after purchasing the hotel, Carl Witzmann (with his two co-owners at the time, Josef Fuchs and Bernhard Mandl) had structural adaptations made to the house: “At the entrance gate in Taborstrasse, a glass roof with iron construction (...) was installed above the sidewalk, (...) one of the rooms has been redesigned into an American ice depot with a sump for draining (...), the housing division changed "etc.

Three years later - Carl Witzmann was known as a “hotelier and restaurateur ” - he had a 15 m long and 3.5 m wide open veranda built in the courtyard garden “for restoration purposes”. A year later (1892) - Carl Witzmann was already the sole owner - he received permission from the Vienna City Council to “build a ground floor (...) courtyard tract with a restoration room on the right side of this reality (...) without a basement." In December of the same year he was also given permission to "convert the existing corridor on the ground floor into a bowling alley in the left courtyard wing."

Mathilde Witzmann

When Carl Witzmann died at the age of 51, his wife Mathilde Witzmann, nee. Obrist (1867–1948) succeeded him. In the year of her husband's death (1911), she acquired the hotel concession; on June 10, 1920, she applied for approval of major structural measures: “Relocation of the existing hall entrance through the hotel vestibule to a separate entrance for the hall from the street; (...) enlargement of the restaurant dining room; (...) Creation of a hotel vestibule with seating, (...) cashing in the porter's lodge and setting up a desk for the porter "etc.

Mathilde Witzmann had led the Hotel Stefanie safely through the First World War . At the age of 60, in 1926, she gave up the hotel business. Her youngest daughter Stefanie (sic!), Married Schick (1896–1979), followed in her mother's footsteps and took over the business that same year. On February 25, 1926 she acquired the concession for the operation of the catering trade with the authorizations (...) lit b) serving food, lit c) serving beer, wine and fruit wine, lit g) keeping permitted games with the exception of billiards and for the operation of the hotel business with the authorizations according to (...) lit a) foreign accommodation.

Stefanie Schick was able to lead the Hotel Stefanie safely through the turmoil of the Second World War . Only when two bombs hit the house as a result of heavy air raids on Vienna and a bloody house-to-house fight took place on the Danube Canal in the so-called "Battle of Vienna" in 1945 did she barricade the hotel in the last months of the war.

In April 1945 the 2nd district of Vienna was captured by the Red Army . During the ten-year occupation that followed, the Hotel Stefanie was converted: the elegant hotel had become a simple hostel for Russian troops. The 2nd district remained the Soviet occupation sector until 1955.

Stefanie Schicks only child, Dr. Stefan (sic!) Schick (1923–2001), was named in 1947 as a co-owner of the Hotel Stefanie. Stefan Schick received his doctorate from what was then the University of World Trade , today's Vienna University of Economics and Business . Together with his mother, he made sure that the company survived the years 1945 to 1955. He quickly took on the repair of the war damage and swiftly pushed ahead with the reconstruction of the family business.

From 1955, after the State Treaty had been signed and the last Soviet soldiers had left the Hotel Stefanie, Stefan Schick carried out considerable renovations on it. On September 1, 1965, the Hotel Stefanie was given the “Category A” (today: “First Class”) .

The Hotel Stefanie on Taborstrasse in Vienna (shines) in new splendor. Everything is new, everything is modern, everything has taste and everything is concerned with the comfort of the guest. As soon as you enter the Hotel Stefanie, you will be amazed at the dignified atmosphere of the large hall. Comfortable sitting areas, shining crystal chandeliers, real Persian carpets, everything neat, everything friendly. Then the big, posh restaurant! Two partition walls, which automatically protrude from the floor when required, separate the large hall into three smaller rooms. Over 200 people can be accommodated here (...). The owners of the Hotel Stefanie, Mrs. Stefanie Schick and son Dr. Stefan Schick can be proud of their completely renovated house. The transfer to category A is well deserved and has actually been due for a certain time. - "Hotel Stefanie in a new shape", 1965

Entrance area of ​​the hotel in 2018

The second major renovation was completed in 1970: the formerly single-story central wing was expanded to four floors; Since then, a conference room equipped with the latest technology has been housed on the top floor of this transverse wing . As one of the first hotels in Vienna, the Hotel Stefanie has had air conditioning since that time . It now had a total of 260 beds, making it the largest Viennese hotel of this class and the fourth largest hotel in Vienna.

With the takeover of the Hotel Stefanie by Stefan Schick's son Martin Schick in 1992, the family company is now in its fourth generation. The main focus of the owner is on a high quality combination of modernity and tradition. (See also Hotel Erzherzog Rainer .)

The Hotel Stefanie, with its 400-year history, forms the cornerstone of the Schick Hotels Group, which today includes five 4-star hotels in Vienna . It is also one of the few privately owned 4-star hotels in Vienna .

Importance to the Jewish religion and culture

Between the First and Second World War , the Hotel Stefanie also housed a prayer house. This was operated by the health support association 'Der Brodyer' in Vienna. That was nothing unusual: Since the temples and synagogues were often overcrowded on public holidays, hotels were also used as places of prayer.

At the same time, the Hotel Stefanie had a remarkable Jewish theater tradition. On the one hand, the “Budapest Orpheum Society” , which first appeared in the “Zum Schwarzen Adler” hotel on Taborstrasse 11, moved in 1896 to the Hotel Stefanie opposite. Until 1903, the "Budapesters" regularly offered performances here. A stage was set up in the in-house hall for this purpose.

(Budapest Orpheum Society.) Even before the performance begins, the entire hall of the 'Hotel Stephanie' is sold out every evening and this may be considered the best proof of how well one can have a chat at the 'Budapesters' performances, because one really doesn't get along laugh out loud. - Illustrated Wiener Extrablatt, April 8, 1900.

On the other hand, from 1908 to 1921 the room of the Hotel Stefanie was the scene of the ensemble “ Jewish Stage ”, the “nucleus of the Yiddish theater in Vienna”.

In that ballroom, where Yiddish-influenced theater performances took place for 25 years, the Hotel Stefanie can now offer its Jewish guests kosher breakfast, among other things . The special needs of Jews on the Sabbath are also taken into account.

Social and ecological commitment

The Hotel Stefanie has been cooperating with Fairtrade for years and is a sponsor of the “Kindertraum Foundation”. The hotel has also been the holder of the Austrian eco-label since 2012.

Records

  • A building has been guaranteed at its current location since the Middle Ages: around 1430, a house-owner couple (Anna and Hans Haringseer) were first mentioned at the current location. Of the 50 or so houses that were located in what would later become the 2nd district of Vienna, one is consistently occupied.
  • The house at Taborstrasse 12 has been run as a hostel for more than 400 years (initially referred to as "Einkehrgasthof", then as a hotel): Since 1600 the house owners have been referred to as "host", "bourgeois landlord" or "hotel owner".
  • The Hotel Stefanie is probably the only 4-star hotel in Vienna whose structural condition still shows the typical structure of a former inn in a former Viennese suburb: the building has always extended from Taborstrasse (formerly: "Kremser-" or . "Hauptstraße") to Große Mohrengasse (previously: "Große Hafnergasse"). This elongated construction was particularly suitable for a single-lane entry and exit of horse-drawn vehicles as well as for the accommodation of rider and horse.
  • The Hotel Stefanie has been family-owned since 1888. This makes it one of the oldest 4-star hotels in Vienna that are run as a family business.
  • Mr. Alfred Reiman, b. 1921, worked as an accountant in the Hotel Stefanie from 1945 until his death in 2012. With 67 years of professional activity, he is probably the longest serving employee in the history of the Viennese hotel industry.

Others

  • In the immediate vicinity of the Hotel Stefanie, the oldest hotel in the city, at Taborstraße 16 is the hospital of the Barmherzigen Brüder Wien - the oldest hospital in Vienna.
  • Some of the art objects in the Hotel Stefanie - such as a complete wash set - come from the personal possession of the Crown Princess and namesake Stephanie of Belgium .
  • In the Hotel Stefanie there is also an original chamberlain key from the court of Emperor Franz Joseph I.
  • In addition, the Hotel Stefanie is the seat of the Austrian hotel porter association "The Golden Keys"
  • The great-grandmother of the current landlord, Mathilde Witzmann, is named " Hochwo (h) lgeboren " in a building plan from 1920 - a tribute that was reserved for special notables.
  • The great Viennese folk actor Hans Moser , also a former member of the “ Budapest Orpheum Society ”, advertised Servas shoe fashions in front of the reception of the Hotel Stefanie after his brilliant success in the 1952 film “ Hallo Dienstmann ”.
  • The portrait of Empress Maria Theresia in the ballroom of the Hotel Stefanie was created in 1963 by Otto Zeiller on behalf of Stefan Schick .
  • The partition walls in the ballroom of the Hotel Stefanie can sink into the floor as if by magic at the push of a button.
  • Since 1991 the Hotel Stefanie has been organizing together with the “Magical Club Vienna” - under the presidency and direction of Magic Christian - “magical” evenings under the motto “ZauberDelikatEssen”, in which cuisine and magic are the focus.

literature

  • Marion Luger : The history of the oldest hotel in Vienna, in family ownership for generations. Ed. Vd Schick Hotel Betriebs GmbH, self-published, Vienna 2016.

Web links

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

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See land registers in the Vienna City and State Archives; Fox,….
  2. ^ A b Hans Haringseer in the Vienna History Wiki of the City of Vienna
  3. ^ Felix Czeike: Hans Haringseer. A 15th century mayor of Vienna. In: Viennese history sheets. Vienna: Association for the history of the city of Vienna, 11 1956, p. 80 ff. Felix Czeike: Vienna and its mayors. Seven centuries of Viennese city history. Vienna [u. a.]: Jugend & Volk 1974, p. 109.
  4. ↑ Manuscript 19 f. 209v. (WSTLA). See Leopold Steiner: Unterer Werd - Leopoldstadt. The tax carriers from 1648–1699.
  5. ↑ Vienna Mayor - chronological list. In: wien.gv.at . Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  6. ↑ Guarantee book (land register) 106/12 f. 16v of July 8th, 1600 (Vienna City and State Archives). See Steiner, Steuerträger, 1648–1699.
  7. ↑ hr book (land register) 106/12 f. 171 dated December 4th, 1621 (Vienna City and State Archives). See Steiner, Steuerträger, 1648–1699.
  8. ↑ Non-profit scheme of the kaiserl. royal Capital and residence city of Vienna: for the benefit of residents and foreigners. Vienna: printed and available from Joseph Gerold, 1779. Digitizedhttp: //vorlage_digitalisat.test/1%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.digital.wienbibliothek.at%2Fwbrobv%2Fcontent%2Fpageview%2F437885~GB%3D~IA%3D~MDZ%3D%0A~SZ%3D~ double-sided% 3D ~ LT% 3D ~ PUR% 3D
  9. ^ Vasquez, "KK Polizey-Bezirk Leopoldstadt", approx. 1830.
  10. ↑ Anton Behsel: Directory of everyone in the kaiserl. royal Capital and residence city Vienna with its suburbs, with exact details of the older, middle and newest numbering, the current owners and signs, the streets and squares, the land authorities, then the police and parish districts, Vienna: Gerold 1829, p. 45; Hormayr, Wien's Geschichte, Urkundenbuch, S. CCXVI; Fuchs, Beherbergungswesen, pp. 79–89, as well as the relevant land registers.
  11. ↑ See foreign paper of the imperial and royal capital Vienna , 1847 to 1849
  12. ^ Foreign paper of August 4, 1848 and November 14, 1848.
  13. ^ Construction plan, 1829. Archives of the Hotel Stefanie. "At this point in time, there should have been around 2 horse parking spaces in a guest room in the 'White Rose'." Fuchs, Beherbergungswesen, p. 114.
  14. ^ Construction plan, 1829. Archives of the Hotel Stefanie.
  15. ↑ Große Mohrengasse in the Vienna History Wiki of the City of Vienna
  16. ↑ a b c d building file. Archive of the Hotel Stefanie.
  17. ↑ Fuchs, Beherbergungswesens, pp. 117–120.
  18. ^ Building files from June 26, 1888. Archives of the Hotel Stefanie.
  19. ^ Letter from the municipal district office for the 2nd district dated May 25, 1926. Archives of the Hotel Stefanie.
  20. ↑ In: "The modern hotel", No. 397, 05/1965.
  21. ↑ “The season can begin. The fourth largest hotel in Vienna is ready for the guests. ”In:“ Die Presse ”, 20./21. June 1970, p. 13.
  22. ↑ 'The Brodyer' sick support association
  23. ^ Helga Gibs: Leopoldstadt - Small world on the big river , Mohl Verlag, Vienna 1997, ISBN 3-900272-54-9 , pp. 124-127
  24. ↑ Sascha Feuchert: Oskar Rosenfeld and Oskar Singer: Two authors of the Lodzer ghetto . In: Giessen work on modern German literature and literary studies . tape 24 . Peter-Lang-Verlagsgruppe, 2004, ISBN 978-3-631-50834-3 , p. 82 .
  25. ↑ Fairtrade in the Schick Hotels Vienna. Retrieved April 28, 2019 .
  26. ↑ Schick Hotels Vienna: Commitment with charm. Retrieved April 28, 2019 .
  27. ↑ Environmentally friendly living in the Schick Hotels. Retrieved April 28, 2019 .
  28. ^ Felix Czeike: Hans Haringseer. A 15th century mayor of Vienna. In: Viennese history sheets. Vienna: Association for the history of the city of Vienna, 11 1956, p. 80 ff. Felix Czeike: Vienna and its mayors. Seven centuries of Viennese city history. Vienna [u. a.]: Jugend & Volk 1974, p. 109.
  29. ↑ Manuscript 19 f. 209v. (WSTLA). See Leopold Steiner: Unterer Werd - Leopoldstadt. The tax carriers from 1648–1699.
  30. ^ Historical local dictionary: Statistical documentation on population and settlement history - Vienna. (PDF; 641 KB) Data from August 31, 2014. In: oeaw.ac.at. 2014, archived from the original on July 21, 2015 ; accessed on May 7, 2018 .
  31. ↑ Fuchs, Beherbergungswesen, p. 111 f.
  32. ^ "Les Clefs d'Or Austria"

Coordinates: 48 ° 12 ′ 51.63 "  N , 16 ° 22 ′ 49.21"  E