Historic Hotels in Wroclaw

Europejski Hotel is one of the oldest hotels currently providing its services in Wrocław. Before WW2 known as the Hohenzollern – Hof Hotel (until 1945). Constructed in the years 1876-1877 by the company “Nawroth & co.” according to the design by construction foreman Pollock on an undeveloped plot which corresponded to the address ul. Stawowa 3 (Teichstrasse 3 at the time).

Initially, it consisted of one corner building, in 1907 the neighbouring house was attached to it, situated at ul. Stawowa 18/20. The renovation conducted in 1910 resulted in the connection of interiors and giving both properties uniform façade including Classicist and Baroque elements. Its corner part consisted of five levels with such distinguishing elements as three two-level oriel windows, with the middle one finished with a balcony and those situated on the wings finished with semi-circular roofs. In addition, side façades were finished with decorative gables including two additional levels each, covered with mansard roof. The building adjacent to the hotel from ul. Stawowa represented more modest look, as it had simple six-axis façade and five levels – high ground floor with vitrines finished with arcs, three hotel stories as well as the fifth one located in the attic. The entrance to the hotel was situated from the then ul. Ogrodowa (Gartenstrasse) and the remaining part of the ground floor included the store with products made of gold and silver run by Otto Stammwitz.

After WW2, that the hotel survived suffering only minor damage, it started to receive guests under the name “Europejski”. In the 1960s it offered 35 single rooms with telephones in each of them. Modernizations conducted after the war resulted in the main entrance from the then ul. Świerczewskiego being liquidated and moved to the new arcade. The number of rooms was extended. In the 1990s, the hotel offered accommodation for 103 visitors in 65 single and double rooms as well as suites.

A few years ago, Europejski Hotel underwent thorough renovation and modernization which restored previous glory of this beautiful historical facility. In the early 2014, the façade was renovated and ornamented with beautiful illumination. Today it combines tradition and modernity, offering 96 air-conditioned rooms, a charming Vienna-style café, stylish restaurant and 2 conference halls.

More details are available on the hotel website – www.europejskiwroclaw.pl

Piast Hotel, before WW2 known as Kronprinz Hotel, had its former glam restored in 2014. The facility, constructed in 1908 according to the design by Waldemar Milbradt, had been the city’s most elegant hotel, with a characteristic semi-circular tower, nowadays including the most elegant big-window suites.

This five-level building with usable attic, constructed following the Classicist style, was very aptly included in the surrounding architectural landscape at the corner of two main streets next to the Main Railway Station. The most characteristic element facilitating the identification of the hotel is its semi-circular tower covered with cone-shaped roof, situated in the corner and moved slightly back from the face of the building, including the staircase illuminated with big windows. It dominates two five-level wings covered with mansard roof. Five-bay northern wing was moved back in relation to the frontage alignment of ul. Kołłątaja, while the western nine-bay wing, situated from ul. Piłsudskiego, followed that frontage alignment. Modest façade was complemented with balconies situated on the second level, stone garlands under the windows of the third level, rusticated strips, lesenes running from the second to the fourth floor.

Spaces on the ground floor, situated from the side of the street, were intended for commercial activity, and those inside served as restaurants. In the 1930s, from the side of ul. Ogrodowa (currently Piłsudskiego), Deutsche Bank, a hairdresser’s, a flower shop and a travel agency were situated. From the side of ul. Kołłątaja, one of the four “Residenz Drogerie Oskars Sabiers” could be found. The next stories included offices, club spaces, a breakfast hall, a reading room as well as 56 guest rooms. Kronprinz Hotel, together with the neighbouring Du Nord Hotel (currently “Grand” Hotel) formed one unit – a specific gate through which led the shortest way from the railway station to the historical city centre.

The hotel did not suffer much as a result of warfare. Nevertheless, according to the accounts of long-time residents of the city, it remained empty for a long time and all equipment was gradually robbed.

After being taken care of and given the new name – “PIAST” – it started to receive guests who, thanks to the proximity of the railway station, were coming in big numbers. During the Recovered Territories Exhibition, it was advertised as I category hotel with rooms for 140 visitors and together with the neighbouring Grand Hotel, it constituted the information and touristic centre for visitors of the exhibition. Until the end of the 1990s, the hotel could receive 103 visitors in 65 single and double rooms as well as suites.

Until the end of July 2013, Piast Hotel was in operation as a Tourist House offering accommodation for 184 visitors in dormitories. In 2014, Piast Tourist House underwent thorough renovation, which restored past glory of this beautiful historical building. On February 15th 2015, it was again opened for visitors.

Nowadays, combining tradition with modernity, it offers 92 air-conditioned rooms, 2 conference halls. “Bistro Station” restaurant is situated on its ground floor, together with an elegant chain drugstore.

More details are available on the hotel website – www.piastwroclaw.pl

Polonia Hotel. In 1911, one of the biggest, most elegant and most expensive hotels in Wrocław of those times was inaugurated, called – VIER JAHRESZEITEN (Four Seasons of the Year) and constructed according to the design by architect Paul Rother.

The building consisted of the front section together with side and back wings, forming internal courtyard. The most representative front façade referred to a Baroque palace and the elements attracting a lot of attention were big glazed vitrines as well as first level windows, finished in a semi-circular shape and with balconies situated above them, forming specific railing ornamented with stone vases. Seven-axis pseudo avant-corps was situated in the central location, finished with mansard roof and an additional level – a belvedere with a viewing terrace.

Stores accessible from the level of the street were situated on the ground floor. First floor included: two-level ball hall with loges and coffered ceiling, restaurants, cafés ornamented with various paintings and a beautiful fireplace, a billiard hall as well as club spaces, where the exclusive “Schlesischer Klub” had its seat, equipped following the English style. 120 rooms occupied the remaining space, accessible from 5 staircases.

In the 1920s and 1930s, small renovations and reconstructions were conducted in the hotel, aiming at improving its functionality as well as making it more adjusted to visitors’ needs. Adjacent parcels were also purchased for this reason: a square behind the hotel, where a café and a wine bar with verandas were created, together with a ball hall with a platform for the orchestra and a vast terrace with dance floor, as well as the property situated at ul. Nowoświdnicka 16.

In 1939, general reconstruction of the hotel took place according to the design by Otto Schenderlein, giving the building simplified forms characteristic for the architecture of the Third Reich. The most visible change consisted in depriving the building of its original Art Nouveau and Baroque characteristics and liquidating the ridge turret on the roof.
Slightly damaged during the Festung Breslau siege, it had its function restored very quickly among the ashes of the destroyed city, already under its new name “POLONIA”. As one of the few hotels in the city, in the first years after the war it was equipped with garages for cars and trucks.

In the 1960s, it had 54 single rooms, 54 bathrooms, 35 suites, a TV club, telephones in all rooms, express laundry as well as a hairdresser’s, and with time, it became a cult place. “Tempo” was a Czech-style bar, characterized by separated stands, and the second most profitable bar in the entire Poland /after the “Praha” bar in Warsaw. “Tempo” consisted of two halls. The first one, from the street, where desserts, coffee and beer were served and the second one, selling lunches and ready-made dishes, also to take away.

In the Polish 2007 novel “Dżuma w Breslau” (Plague in Breslau) by Marek Krajewski, one of the criminal scenes took place in the billiard hall of the hotel.

Nowadays, after conducting numerous modernization activities, Polonia Hotel offers 123 single and double rooms as well as family rooms and a studio. Hotel rooms are divided into 2 categories: economy and higher standard. In the elegant “Galicja” restaurant, situated in the adjacent building, breakfasts are served, together with Galician, Polish and European dishes.

More details are available on the hotel website – www.poloniawroclaw.pl

Lothus Hotel is situated at ul. Wita Stwosza 23. Until mid-19th century, this street was one of the most beautiful and most expensive streets in Wrocław. The building was erected in 1903, opposite the Hatzfeld dukes palace, with the intention to create the Deutsches Haus (German House) hotel. It was erected in place of the demolished “Under the Stork” tenement house, which from 1840 also functioned as a hotel. It can be said without exaggeration that the hotel is located in the very heart of Wrocław and from here, every place in the city is easily accessible. A few hundred meters to the Market Square, the same distance to the Ostrów Tumski district, the National Museum, the Racławice Panorama, Wrocław Opera, the historical Market Hall and the University of Wrocław. The Dominikański Square is just a heartbeat away from the hotel, where next to the popular shopping centre, public transport node is situated, from which we will quickly and conveniently reach every corner of the city.

After WW2, the building served the function of the hotel of Wrocław University of Technology, where numerous scientists coming to Poland in order to take part in scholarship programs were received. Recently, the hotel was leased to foreign investors. In 2017 the hotel was purchased from Wrocław University of Technology by the Rafin Developer company for 13 million zlotys. After a short break used for renovation works, “Lothus” is again open for visitors. Modernization designs of the historical hotel were already prepared. The hotel will become a four-star facility (currently it has three stars). Its towers, which were present within the structure of the building before the war, will also be restored.

The decision of city monuments conservator has also already been obtained and the application for construction permit has been filed.

Lothus Hotel offers single and double rooms as well as family suites with a separate bedroom, making it possible to receive 106 visitors.

More details are available on the hotel website – www.lothuswroclaw.pl

Grand Hotel

Grand Hotel was constructed in 1903 as Du Nord Hotel (The Nord Hotel), at the initiative of Wrocław entrepreneur Wilhelm Koch at the corner of current streets ul. Marszałka Józefa Piłsudskiego and ul. Kołłątaja. It was the time when a modern hotel with stores on the ground floor was established.

Architect Paul Rother devoted a lot of effort for the building to impress with its dimensions as well as architectural decoration of the façade. However, according to Dr. Maciej Łagiewski, author of the book “WROCŁAW – Wędrówka przez wieki” (WROCŁAW – A journey through centuries), interior design was its most impressive part. Aptly combining ceramic decorations, timber and stone elements with wall paintings would evoke the best hotels in Paris.

Dr. Łagiewski also claims that favourable situation in the hotel industry in the vicinity of the Main Railway Station was also noticed by the shareholders of Wrocław Construction Bank who, in 1908, opened the Kronprinz Hotel (today’s “Piast” Hotel) on the opposite side of the current streets ul. Kołłątaja and ul. Piłsudskiego. The splendid five-level hotel facility was designed by Waldemar Milbradt, the designer of numerous Wrocław villas. Both hotels constituted a great architectural frame for the entrance to the city, and for this reason they are often called City Entrance Gate.
During the communist era in Poland, Grand Hotel was the most elegant one in the city, managed by the “Odra” Touristic Economy Company. Without renovations or modernizations, in the late 1990s it was closed, gradually running to ruin.

In 2017, the Rafin Developer company, member of Dexpol Capital Group, began general renovation and reconstruction of the Grand Hotel. The author of the design as well as of the entire concept is Grzegorz Górka, Wrocław architect from the “GreG Architekci” atelier. Preliminary cost estimate of the works provides the amount of 60 million zlotys. The entire interior has already been demolished and external walls are going to be revitalized. Roof turret, present in the period before WW2, is going to be added. In this way “Grand”, with the already renovated “Piast” Hotel, will again form the City Gate. Grand Hotel neon is going to come back to the roof, with the space for modern glazed Sky Bar next to it.

Grand Hotel is going to offer 172 rooms (148 in the hotel building and 24 in hotel suites situated in the adjacent tenement house from ul. Gwarna 21). Underground parking is going to be constructed under the 4-star hotel. The completion of works is scheduled for the year 2021.

Details concerning the course of renovation and current advancement of works will be available on the website soon.