GRAND HOTEL SINCE 1863

From Kaiser Wilhelm to Kölsch Convention

THE HISTORY OF THE EXCELSIOR HOTEL ERNST

Founded in 1863 by Royal Court Restaurateur Carl Ernst, our 5-star luxury hotel can look back on over 150 years of history and tradition. Within just a short space of time the Hotel Ernst became one of the most renowned hotels in Germany. From here, the first German Kaiser watched the completion of Cologne Cathedral. And over successive decades, we were able to welcome numerous artists, politicians and entrepreneurs through our doors as world history came to stay in our house. Even the Kölsch Convention was sealed in one of our ballrooms.

 All our guests have contributed to this long history – and we look forward to many more in the future.

1871

The hotel was sold to Friedrich Kracht, a citizen of German descent who had lived in Belgium but moved from Brussels to Cologne during the turmoil of war. Kracht died four years after acquiring the hotel; his wife and son Karl ran it after his death.

1889

Karl Kracht moved to Zürich, where he married Emma Pauline Baur, whose family owned the well-known Baur au Lac and Savoy Baur en Ville.

1890

The management of the Hotel Ernst was transferred from the mother to Karl Kracht and his sister Hermine Brinkhaus. The siblings founded a GmbH (company with limited liability), which Hermine left three years later. Karl Kracht was now the sole owner of the Cologne hotel. He lived with his family in Zurich, where he ran the Baur au Lac.

1905

Friedrich Reime was appointed director of the Hotel Ernst.

1908 to 1910

The Hotel Ernst was partially demolished and rebuilt in order to offer guests from the worlds of politics, nobility and industry the very best possible comfort. Completed in record time, it reopened as the 5-star Grand Hotel Excelsior Hotel Ernst. The suffix Excelsior comes from Latin and means “ever upward” or “still higher”, emphasising the guiding principle of always offering our guests the very latest in comfort. Guests in the refurbished hotel were astonished to find that 60 of the 200 rooms now had a private bathroom – at a time when running water was still a novelty.

1918

After the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, the hotel became the headquarters of the British troops.

31 DECEMBER 1926

After the British troops left Cologne, the 5-star Excelsior Hotel Ernst celebrated its reopening – still managed by Friedrich Reime, who ran it until 1938.

SECOND WORLD WAR

In 1943, Cologne was subjected to heavy air raids, one of which hit the Excelsior Hotel Ernst. The roof truss and attic both burnt out, and the roofs of the adjacent houses in Trankgasse – the Deichmannhaus and the Hotel Fürstenhof – were also destroyed. However, the first four floors of ourluxury hotel remained intact, so operations were able to continue at least until 1944, even in the challenging circumstances of wartime.

These were dramatic months. When director Max Mattheus left the hotel with the last remaining staff on May 2 1945, just before the end of the war, he pinned a letter of protection to the outside of the building, marking the hotel as Swiss property.

In September 1945, the luxury hotel won permission to resume operating its hotel and restaurant business. Initially it was requisitioned by the British military administration. But plans were soon made for the reconstruction of the destroyed parts of the building, and after the currency reform in June 1948, the Excelsior Hotel Ernst was finally able to fully reopen.

March 1958

Erico Geweyer became managing director of the Excelsior Hotel Ernst – a post he would hold for 13 years.

1972

Siegfried Breunig was appointed as successor to Erico Geweyer, who died in March 1971. Numerous renovations and modernisations were carried out under his leadership in close cooperation with Charles Kracht. The public rooms in the reception area, the Winter Garden and the Piano Bar were all renovated, and contemporary conference rooms were created.

1976

The Restaurant Hanse Stube was extensively refurbished in the timelessly elegant style that remains so popular today.

1986

The hotel underwent significant expansion. With the so-called rotunda and its 29 exclusive apartments and double rooms, as well as an impressive staircase crowned by a glass dome, new standards were set for guest comfort. The conversions and extensions were planned by well-known architect Siegward Graf Pilati from Munich.

1989

Charles Kracht, the family’s long-standing representative on the hotel’s board of directors, handed over the reins to his nephew Charles Roulet, who had returned from the USA after a successful career as a hotelier. So now it was a great-grandson of Carl Kracht who led the board of directors of this iconic business.

NOVEMBER 1994

After the sudden death of Siegfried Breunig, Charles Roulet temporarily took over the management of the hotel.

June 1995

Manfred Brennfleck took over as new director of the Excelsior Hotel Ernst.

October 2001

East Asian restaurant taku opened its doors as a house of Asian delights. Since then, exquisite dishes from the cuisines of various Far Eastern cultures have been served to our guests and visitors here, starting with puristic Japanese cuisine, through the somewhat heartier Chinese, to the spicier variants of Thai and Vietnamese delicacies.

Early 2002

A state-of-the-art business centre featuring the latest communications technology was set up – with free internet access, comfortable workspaces and all the equipment of a modern office.

JUNE 2003 TO MAY 2004

Following the departure of Manfred Brennfleck, Robert A. Schaller managed the fortunes of the company on an interim basis.

2004

Wilhelm Luxem took over the management of the hotel. Under the strategy of “Tradition & Innovation”, the rejuvenation of the hotel gathered pace.

2005

The listed natural stone facade on the cathedral side of the building was extensively restored.

2006

The renovation of the facade of the Hanseatic wing on Domprobst-Ketzer-Strasse was completed. The measures allowed the filigree facades to shine again in their former glory.

2007

In the Hanseatic wing, 23 new deluxe double rooms, seven junior suites and five executive suites were built at a cost of seven million euros. Modern technology and traditional ambience came together here in perfect symbiosis. At the same time, the public rooms were equipped with the latest air conditioning technology.

Autumn 2009

The renowned Busche Verlag with its publications Schlemmer Atlas and Schlummer Atlas chose our taku restaurant as the best foreign restaurant in Germany and the Excelsior Hotel Ernst as Hotel of the Year 2010.

November 2011

Our taku restaurant celebrated a very special occasion: the award of its first star by the Michelin Guide.

November 2012

Henning Matthiesen took over the management of the Grand Hotel. With sensitivity and a careful hand, he implemented some important modernisations. The conversion of the entire hotel lobby into an inviting lounge area crowned his first successful year.

2015

The 29 Grand Deluxe rooms and a suite in the rotunda were extensively renovated. The rooms, which are spread over six floors, boast the highest level of comfort, pleasing colours and technical innovations that are discreetly integrated into the spatial structure.

November 2017

After just six months of intensive construction work, the Marzellen wing was completely renovated. With 13 refurbished rooms and suites spread over five floors, and a new event room equipped with the latest conference technology, our Cologne Grand Hotel led the way again with facilities of the highest quality.

Since 2020

Georg Plesser is currently managing director of the Excelsior Hotel Ernst, with the aim of continuing to set new trends under the watchword “Tradition & Innovation”.