Koblenzer Hof (Koblenz)

The former grand hotel "Koblenzer Hof" in the Rhine area of Koblenz

The former Grand Hotel Coblenzer Hof is a monumental hotel building in the Rhine area of Koblenz . Today the Federal Office for Equipment, Information Technology and Use of the Federal Armed Forces (BAAINBw) is housed in the building, but due to the risk of collapse, most of the building cannot be used. Together with the neighboring Prussian government building, it forms an ensemble that shapes the cityscape on the banks of the Rhine.

history

Advertisement for the Grand Hotel “Coblenzer Hof” in 1914

The Koblenzer Hof was built on the banks of the Rhine from 1912 to 1913 on behalf of the stock corporation for real estate, residential buildings & Grand Hotel Esplanade Bellevue according to plans by the Cologne architect Heinrich Müller-Erkelenz . The Diesinger Hotel and the Rheinstromverwaltung building were previously located in the same place. Several residential buildings were built behind the hotel. The new building was initially named Grand-Hotel Esplanade-Bellevue. Since there was resistance to the French name, it was renamed Hotel Koblenzer Hof in the opening year . In 1914 a movie theater was built.

The hotel was badly damaged in the air raids on Koblenz during World War II. It was only rebuilt in a simplified manner, especially in the roof and interior area. Then the newly founded Federal Office for Defense Technology and Procurement (BWB) moved into the building and the neighboring Prussian government building .

Due to the risk of collapse, the Koblenzer Hof had to be evacuated at short notice on December 9, 2011. The employees were distributed to other building complexes of the BWB (today: BAAINBw). The reason for the eviction was that the building rests on a rusty steel structure that could collapse in an earthquake. The former grand hotel has to be completely renovated. The public discussion in the course of the renovation is to convert the building back into a five-star hotel (in accordance with its original use) .

However, since a neighboring building (spatially and technically) connected to the Koblenzer Hof is still required by the current user (BAAINBw), no concrete plans could be made. At the beginning of 2015, however, the move of the current user to a new building was questioned again, so that the future of the property will probably have to remain open for longer.

In May 2016, however, it became known that the office , which is still housed in the adjacent building, is to be relocated to Lahnstein , and the date for the move was given in 2019. The plan to convert the Koblenzer Hof, which is still vacant, into a hotel is likely to result in considerable costs, however; the static stabilization of the building alone will require 15 million euros.

At the end of 2018, the Bundeswehr announced that the plans for the building had been changed again: The BAAINBw intended to continue using it, so that the Koblenzer Hof should be renovated. Since the office's staff had to be increased and acute space problems would arise, the decision was made not to give up the location, especially since the neighboring building connected to the Koblenzer Hof is still used by the authority. This meant that the negotiations about using it as a hotel were off the table. In any case, these were always only non-binding because the building had never been approved by the authorities.

construction

The elongated hotel building was erected at the request of the Prussian district government in harmony with the neighboring Prussian government building with emphasis on the vertical and therefore also has a historical-monumental effect. The five-storey building with an attic was built in neoclassical forms, with a pilaster-structured eight-axis central projectile and a two-storey veranda . Under the porch on the ground floor there is an arcade with polygonal wall pillars that form a passage. On the sides there are two rounded corner buildings, which originally ended in round towers, with bay windows . The first floor, where the salons and dining rooms were located, has large, recessed windows. The remaining floors have simple windows with sills , some of which have parapet grilles. The original triangular gable is no longer preserved .

Monument protection

The Koblenzer Hof is a protected cultural monument under the Monument Protection Act (DSchG) and entered in the list of monuments of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate . It is located on Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 2-6 .

Since 2002 the Koblenzer Hof has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Upper Middle Rhine Valley .

literature

Energieversorgung Mittelrhein GmbH (ed.): History of the city of Koblenz. (Overall editing: Ingrid Bátori in conjunction with Dieter Kerber and Hans Josef Schmidt)
- Volume 1: From the beginning to the end of the electoral era. Theiss, Stuttgart 1992, ISBN 3-8062-0876-X .
- Volume 2: From the French city to the present. Theiss, Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-8062-1036-5 .
Fritz Michel : The art monuments of the city of Koblenz. The mundane monuments and the suburbs. Munich / Berlin 1954. (= The art monuments of Rhineland-Palatinate , Volume 1.)
Herbert Dellwing , Reinhard Kallenbach (arr.): City of Koblenz. Downtown. (= Cultural monuments in Rhineland-Palatinate , volume 3.2.) Speyer 2004, ISBN 3-88462-198-X , p. 158ff.
Press and Tourism Office of the City of Koblenz (Ed.): The Rheinanlagen Koblenz. From the beginnings till now. (Brochure with contributions by Willi Hört, Franz-Josef Heyen, Katharina Richter, Detlef Wahl and others) Koblenz 1992.