Russischer Hof
The classicist facade of the Russischer Hof suggests that it ranks among the oldest hotels of Weimar.
In fact, the historic part of the elegant building dates back to the year 1805. At that time the Countess Henkel and Lady von Egloffstein bought the half-finished house at the pig market, at the border of the inner city , in order to turn it into a guesthouse.
At the same time the lady-in-waiting Luise von Göchhausen wrote to the School principal Böttiger:
„The influx of foreigners is so great that I believe this is the reason why two of the most respected ladies from here have decided to open a guesthouse ... it is expected to become a brilliant guesthouse to be called eiher ‘Hotel de Russie’ or ‘The Russischer Hof’.“
We are today quite confident that the wedding of Carl Friedrich, the duke's heir to the throne, and the sister of czar Alexander I. of Russia, Maria Pawlowna, in Weimar in the year 1804 also made its impact on the choice of names. Yet at first, the building was named after the czar of Russia, "Alexanderhof".Since the 1840s the name "Russischer Hof" was a household name in the German city of Weimar. Weimar was of course famous for being the city where Goethe, a keyfigue of German literature, had died in 1832. In 1841 the "Russischer Hof" was mentioned for the first time in a city guide. In November that year the "Russischer Hof" was the venue of a great encounter. Composer and musician Franz Liszt met fellow musician Robert Schumann and his wife Clara at the Russischer Hof. Liszt also moved to Weimar in 1848.
The careful refurbishment from 1997 to 1999 turned the Russischer Hof into a hotel combining most modern comfort with the memory of its important history. Here the demanding guest can witness the cultural life of the classic city and feel at home at the same time.
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In fact, the historic part of the elegant building dates back to the year 1805. At that time the Countess Henkel and Lady von Egloffstein bought the half-finished house at the pig market, at the border of the inner city , in order to turn it into a guesthouse.
At the same time the lady-in-waiting Luise von Göchhausen wrote to the School principal Böttiger:
„The influx of foreigners is so great that I believe this is the reason why two of the most respected ladies from here have decided to open a guesthouse ... it is expected to become a brilliant guesthouse to be called eiher ‘Hotel de Russie’ or ‘The Russischer Hof’.“
A year before, in 1804, Maria Pawlowna, a daughter of the Russian Czar, had arrived in Weimar in a magnificent procession. She became the daughter-in-law of Duke Carl August, the friend and intimate of Goethe. She was regarded as one of the most beautiful women in Europe. Now her charme enchanted the Weimar court. The brother of the young duchess to be was Czar Alexander, so in his honor the new hotel was named „Alexanderhof“.
But already the marriage festivities were overshadowed. Napoleon besieged Germany with his army ready for battle. The decisive battle took place at Jena-Auerstedt in 1806, when the Prussian army, in which Thuringian soldiers took part, suffered a catastrophic defeat.
To heal the countless wounded, the „Alexanderhof“ was turned into a hospital. Johanna Schopenhauer, the mother of the philosopher, was among the volunteers.
After the unrest of war the postal station moved into the Alexanderhof and stayed there with lapses until 1857. The grand portal is still witness to the former entrance to the postal station with its stables.
Surely, such a great guesthouse was not always booked up to capacity in the small city, so that it was used for the most variegated events, ranging from the exhibition of exotic animals to pictures of Goethe’s „Faust“. The civic society „Harmonie“ sponsored this exhibition of works by the painters Liebe and Schwertgeburth.
The growth of the city gave reason to remodel the former pig market into a square adorned with trees. This way the Russischer Hof was able to attract important guests by its friendly environment.
It was the location of a meeting between Franz Liszt and Clara and Robert Schumann in 1841. Liszt who celebrated triumphs as a pianist all over Europe, aroused the highest interest of the guests. It was his first sojourn in Weimar, before he took over the the direction of the Weimar Opera in 1848.
Liszt, who caused debates by his first performances of Richard Wagner’s „Tannhäuser“, „Lohengrin“, „Der fliegende Holländer“, inaugurated the „Neu-Weimar-Verein“ in 1854.
Together with the poet Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben, the composer Peter Cornelius, the painter Friedrich Preller, the violinist Joseph Joachim and the actor Eduard Genast, he tried to oppose hostile reactionary attitudes.
The Russischer Hof became the social center of the post-classicist era in which, among other civic societies the Artists’ Society Kunstverein)was founded. Among their members were the masters of the Weimar School of Painters, later on also the masters of the Weimar Bauhaus.
The number of famous guests was increased by Friedrich Hebbel and the sculptor Ernst Rietschel, who created the world-renowned Goethe-Schiller monument. The actress Eleonore Duse stayed at the Russischer Hof, just as the Russian writer Turgenev.
A letter by Turgenev shows that the Russischer Hof was by no means a luxury hotel, as he complained bitterly: “The whole family has been here for a few days and is freezing! The cold is incisive - the houses in Weimar are built from cardboard and scarcely fitted by saliva.“
During the Third Reich the Russischer Hof underwent another change of name. It became the „Fürstenhof“.
After World War II the hotel regained its original name.
Reconstructions changed its interior design, a supplemental construction in the great court was added in the eighties, which, however, did not meet contemporary requirements.
The careful refurbishment from 1997 to 1999 turned the Russischer Hof into a hotel combining most modern comfort with the memory of its important history.
Here the demanding guest can witness the cultural life of the classic cityand feel at home at the same time.
Text: Gisela Hemman
Hoffmann von Fallersleben, the Germanist, poet and creator of the "Lied der Deutschen" (The Song of the Germans)
Eduard Franz Genast, singer, actor, composer and director
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Weimar's classic poet laureat
Franz Liszt, the great Pianist, composer and conductor
Grand duchess Maria Pawlowna, the sister of Czar Alexander I. and wife of the grand duke Carl Friedrich
Ernst Rietschel, creator of the Goethe-Schiller monument in front of the National Theatre
Clara and Robert Schumann, the panist and composer couple
Rudolf Steiner, philosopher and founder of the anthroposophy
Theodor Storm, the great writer
Iwan Sergejewitsch Turgenjew, famous Russian writer
Richard Wagner, famous as a composer, playwright, conductor and director
Giacomo Meyerbeer, opera composer
In the recent past many important representatives of the political and cultural life have stayed with us, among them:?(in alphabetical order)
Mario Adorf, actor
Iris Berben, actress
Senta Berger, actress and producer
Kurt Biedenkopf, conservative politician and Prime Minister of the Free State of Saxony from 1990 to2002
Peter Boenisch, journalist and government spokesman under Helmut Kohl until 1985
Pierre Brice, French actor, knight of the Legion of Honour
Grace Bumbry, American soprano and mezzo-soprano
Rudi Carrell, host
Joschka Fischer, politician of the Green party, Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs and vice-chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1998 until 2005
Evelyn Hamann, actress
Maria and Margot Hellwig, singer duo
Rolf Hochhuth, playwright
Leslie Howard, Australian-British pianist, composer and Liszt interpreter
Cyprien Katsaris, French pianist and composer
Roland Koch, conservative politician and Prime Minister of the state of Hesse
Federal President Horst Köhler and wife
Gidon Kremer, German-Letvian violinist
Ruth Maria Kubitschek, actress who, among other places, used to study in Weimar
Oskar Lafontaine, Prime Minister of the Saarland from 1985 to 1998
Volker Lechtenbrink, actor, director, theatre manager, lyricist and singer
Prof. Edda Moser, soprano star
Ivo Pogorelich, panist
Federal President Johannes Rau and wife
Jerome Rose, American pianist
Otto Schenk, Austrian actor, Schauspieler, cabaret artist, director and theatre manager
András Schiff, Hungarian pianist
Prof. Dr. Dagmar Schipanski, scientist and conservative politician
Peter Schreier, singer and conductor
Barbara Sukowa, actress and singer
Wolfgang Wagner, opera director, stage designer and former art director of the Bayreuther Festspiele
Guido Westerwelle, politician of the Free Democratic Party, Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs and vice-chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany since 2009
Anna Netrebko, soprano and worldwide acclaimed opera star