Flour pit

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The flour pit, engraving by Johann Adam Delsenbach , 1715

The flour pit was a building on the Neuer Markt in Vienna's 1st district, Innere Stadt , where the Hotel Ambassador, built in 1897, is today.

history

The New Market in 1760, on the right the flour pit (painting by Canaletto )
Neuer Markt, 1832. The flour pit on the left, the Schwarzenberg palace in the background

When in the Middle Ages the Hohe Markt was no longer sufficient to supply the population, the Neuer Markt was created as Vienna's second market and was first mentioned in 1234. Flour and grain were also traded here, giving rise to the unofficial name of flour market . The flour pit was first mentioned in 1375 as a flour pit . In 1418 the house was run as the “municipal flour depot and meat rental establishment” , and the old building was demolished at the end of the 17th century.

The Mehlgrube house, designed by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach , was built in its place in 1697 , and at the time of its construction it was the dominant building on the square. It housed a hall on the first floor in which exclusive balls and redoubts took place. The young Joseph Haydn is said to have earned some money as a musician here. In 1781 the ballroom was converted into a concert hall, and on February 11, 1785 the 20th piano concerto by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was premiered here. Mozart himself acted as a soloist in the piece, which was completed the day before.

In 1798 the house was reopened as the Gasthaus Zur Mehlgrube . The landlord Michael Mörus also had balls and concerts held in the flour pit. A prominent conductor was Ludwig van Beethoven , who was often to be found in the neighboring inn, the White Swan . In 1831 the house was converted into a so-called casino with a concert hall and gastronomy on behalf of Mathias Czermak . Joseph Lanner and Franz Ludwig Morelly had engagements as Kapellmeister here. In addition, so-called “journalist evenings” took place, which led to the founding of today's Concordia press club in 1859 .

In 1837 the flour pit was taken over by Franz Xaver Munsch, who had the house converted into the Hotel Munsch in 1866 . In 1897 the new owner Josef Krantz had the flour pit torn down and a building built in the neo-renaissance style according to the designs of the architects Kupka and Orglmeister . The Hotel Krantz , later Krantz-Ambassador , opened the following year and was one of the most exclusive hotels in town. In 1930 the Lehár restaurant was opened with a concert conducted by Franz Lehár .

Towards the end of the Second World War , the facade on Kärntner Strasse was badly damaged by bombs. After the reconstruction, the house was renamed Hotel Ambassador in June 1945 . In 2001 the hotel underwent a general renovation with a controversial extension (de facto an increase ) to the top floor.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ In the footsteps of Franz Joseph Haydn in Vienna (PDF file; 92 kB)
  2. ^ Die Presse , April 9, 2001
  3. ^ Minutes of the Vienna City Council of May 29, 2002
  4. ↑ Dieter Klein , Martin Kupf , Robert Schediwy : Stadtbildverluste Wien , Vienna 2004, p. 321 u. 331

literature

Web links

Coordinates: 48 ° 12 ′ 20.7 ″  N , 16 ° 22 ′ 15.1 ″  E