Quellenhof (Aachen)
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The Quellenhof in Aachen was one of the most renowned spa hotels in Germany in the first half of the 20th century . After a restoration in the years 1997–1999, after a phase of decline caused by the Second World War in the 21st century , the former grand hotel is again an upscale hotel with a different conception and target group.
history
In order to revive spa and bathing life in Aachen at the beginning of the 20th century, it was decided in April 1913 to build a new spa center with a spa hotel, spa center, foyer and a new spa facility, as well as the extensive Aachen spa park on Monheimsallee. At the beginning of 1914, the Maria-Hilf-Spital located there was demolished. After three years of construction - it was delayed by the outbreak of the First World War - the complex designed by the Munich architects Karl Stöhr and Theodor Fischer in the neoclassical style, which combined the spa hotel and the spa house, was opened on June 8, 1916 in the presence of the Prussian Agriculture Minister Clemens Freiherr opened by Schorlemer-Lieser .
The hotel originally had 250 guest rooms, of which 16 bathrooms had their own thermal water connection. The thermal water was calculated from the 600 m distant Rose source via a conduit to the spa facilities. After the First World War, during the period of Belgian occupation that lasted until 1929, the spa business started up only hesitantly due to political unrest . With the establishment of the municipal spa and bathing company mbH in 1933, the spa business was intensively revived for a short time in the 1930s. On August 4, 1936, what was then Europe's largest indoor thermal swimming pool was opened in the Quellenhof.
Especially in the last days of the Second World War , the Quellenhof was fought over and destroyed accordingly. From October 2nd, 1944 until the surrender on October 21st, 1944, the hotel was the headquarters of the last combat commandant.
On June 18, 1949, the thermal swimming pool in the Quellenhof was reopened. Shortly afterwards, on August 20, 1949, the hotel was able to resume overnight stays - initially with only a few rooms. But in view of the fact that the inner-city thermal baths were no longer or only poorly rebuilt, he found too few guests to revitalize the health resort. In 1958, a "department for biological healing for the implementation of Kneipp cures" was opened in the Quellenhof.
The historical thermal baths in Aachen have gradually been closed, first in 1973 the thermal bath Zur Königin von Ungarn , in 1984 the Kaiserbad and finally in 1996 the Römerbad . The thermal exercise pool in the Quellenhof, which was renovated again between 1983 and 1984, was closed on December 30, 2000.
Instead, in the course of the expansion of the city of Aachen as a congress city with the Eurogress building at the end of the 1970s, a new target group emerged for the hotel. Between 1997 and 1999 the building was extensively restored and reopened on September 4, 1999. In addition to congress conference guests, it accommodates guests of company and private celebrations, but increasingly also international tourists. In connection with the Carolus Thermen, which opened in 2001 and the expansion of a hotel's own wellness area (2002), it is looking for a bridge to its original tradition.
The hotel (formerly Steigenberger Hotels , Dorint ) belonged to the Accor Group until the end of 2019 (until 2008 Sofitel , December 2008 until December 2019 Pullman Hotels and Resorts ).
Since January 2020 the Deutsche Immobilien-Gruppe (DI-Gruppe) has been running the hotel under its own management as the Parkhotel Quellenhof Aachen and is planning to invest a double-digit million amount.
The construction
The four-storey building with arched windows and portico in the basement on the main facade, large rectangular windows on the first to third floors, some with balconies, and an attic with bay windows and dormers is a listed building.
The three-wing complex was once a spa hotel in its main front facing Monheimsallee (south-west axis) and in the south-east wing, while its rear wing (north-west) was a spa center; Towards the Kurpark (northeast) the complex was open and connected to the so-called New Kurhaus Aachen via a foyer. The core of this structure is still recognizable, although the connecting piece (after the demolition of the former foyer, which was partially destroyed in the Second World War) has been completely changed in view of the construction by the Eurogress complex.
A central staircase with a bronze balustrade leads from the foyer to all floors of the 185 rooms and suites. On the ground floor there is a ballroom used for congresses and conferences that can accommodate 500 people, as well as 19 other conference rooms.
The entire interior, of which only individual pieces have survived in the original, has been reconstructed based on the historical model. In the foyer, marble columns support a partially gilded stucco ceiling .
Furthermore, a tea room, a fireplace hall, a colonial-style bar with elephant motifs on the walls, a brasserie and three salons used for celebrations are available to guests and visitors .
On the ground floor of the former Kurmittelhaus (rear wing), a contemporary wellness area with indoor pool, sauna, steam bath and relaxation area was created in 2002 instead of the thermal exercise pool that was closed at the end of 2000. With Asian furniture and decorative elements such as replicas of Khmer statues from Angkor Wat , Far Eastern flair is created.
Name / delimitations
Numerous spa and wellness hotels, country inns, rehabilitation and leisure centers in German, Austrian and South Tyrolean locations and resorts are now called Quellenhof . They have no connection to the Quellenhof in Aachen. One thing they have in common is usually the location near a spring - it does not necessarily have to be a thermal spring - and the resulting naming.
literature
- Bruno Bousack: Hot springs. History and history from Bad Aachen. Meyer & Meyer, Aachen 1996, ISBN 3-89124-317-0 .
- Hans Siemons : history of Aachen in data (= publications of the city archive Aachen 12). Published by Bernhard Poll . Mayer, Aachen 2003, ISBN 3-87519-214-1 .
- Juliano de Assis Mendonça: History of the stock corporation for spa and bathing operations in the city of Aachen 1914-1933 , Aachen studies on economic and social history, Volume 9, Aachen 2012, ISBN 978-3-8440-1520-1 , 81 pp.
Web links
- Documentation of the restoration work 1997–1999 ( Memento from September 16, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF file; 2.34 MB)
- Self-presentation
- Representation on the Aachen tourism website
- Aachen thermal water route (PDF file; 7.4 MB)
- Article about the outlook 2020 at Aachener Freunde
Individual evidence
- ^ Change of operator in Aachen Jagdfeld: "Rediscover the Quellenhof". In: Tophotel.de. January 7, 2020, accessed January 8, 2020 .
- ^ Aachener Quellenhof through the ages. In: Aachen friends. March 13, 2020, accessed March 13, 2020 .
Coordinates: 50 ° 46 ′ 53 " N , 6 ° 5 ′ 27" E