bg Karlovy Vary

Grandhotel Pupp

- Mírové Náměstí 8 -
The current multi-story residential and commercial building began as the Saxony Hall, which was built in 1701 by the order of the former mayor of Karlovy Vary, Anton Deiml. Saxon Elector contributed to his construction, and the operating staff always arrived from for the season. Until the beginning of the 18th century, there was a meadow and some buildings on the site of today's hotel at the bend of the Teplé River, which belonged to the former mayor of Karlovy Vary, Andreas Wenzel Becher.
The buildings of Andreas Wenzel Becher at the end of the 17th century
Seven years after its completion, another Karlovy Vary mayor, Andreas Wenzel Becher, had the rival Becheres Lusthaus built on the neighboring plot. According to the seasonal serving waiters from , it was called the Czech Hall. The Elector of Saxony, Friedrich August I, had the so-called Comödien Haus built next to the Saxon Hall, a wooden building that hosted theatrical performances, concerts, and many other types of entertainment. The building, which was wedged between the Czech and Saxon Hall, belonged to Anton Deiml and his family for many years. Karlovy Vary suffered a devastating of 1759 that hit the then Karlovy Vary City Hall. Therefore, the City Council's meetings took place in the Czech Hall for the following years.
The Saxon Hall around 1800
In 1767, the confectioner Jan Jiří Pop came to Karlovy Vary to work for the local confectioner Mitterbach, who later began to sign under the name Johann Georg Pupp, a native of . On January 17, 1775, he married Mitterbach's daughter Františka, who also had a business spirit and on March 1, 1775, bought a third of the Czech Hall. She bought it from Anna Sabina, the widow of Mayor Becher, a year later, on January 30, 1776, she bought the second third from another widow, Josefa Becherová, and finally on January 27, 1778, Johann Georg Pupp bought the last third. In his will, after the death of his wife Franziska, Johann Georg Pupp bequeathed the Czech Hall to his first-born son Heinrich Josef Wilhelm Pupp. After his death, the protracted dispute among the descendants meant a disaster. Although the court eventually ruled in favor of his wife Barbara, she was in debt because of the dispute and had to sell the Czech Hall. In 1868, after 40 years, the Czech Hall became the property of the Pupp family once more. The brothers Anton, Julius, and Heinrich, members of the fourth generation of the Pupp family, together with their mother, become full owners. In 1877, the brothers started construction of the Parkhotel building, the first section of today's Grandhotel Pupp. Because of its great success, it expanded with another wing in the coming years. In 1890, they purchased the Saxon Hall, a competing and neighboring enterprise.
Anton, Julius, and Heinrich Pupp
In 1883, an expansion was built on the eastern side, which was built according to the project of the Austrian architect . In November 1892, the demolition of the Czech and Saxon Halls was executed, which were replaced by a new building, designed by the architects and Josef Němeček. The grand opening of the newly completed hotel was held on May 13, 1894, coinciding with the opening of the spa season. The Grandhotel Pupp immediately became the pride of Karlovy Vary, and soon began to host the most important personalities from around the world. Between 1905 and 1907, the hotel was entirely reconstructed according to the design of the Austrian architect and the German architect . In 1923, each room was upgraded to the highest standards of the day, and equipped with a toilet and a bathroom with hot water.
A share issued in 1898 for the hotel by the Pupp family
After the on September 30 and the annexation of to Germany, the hotel was presented as the Grand und Park Hotel Pupp. In 1944, during the , Karlovy Vary became a hospital town, where the officers' hospital took up most of the hotel. After the war, the nationalization and removal of the German population in 1945 also marked the end of the Pupp dynasty in Karlovy Vary. In 1951, the hotel was renamed Grandhotel Moskva, but after the in 1989, the name of the Grandhotel Pupp returned to the hotel facade.
A meeting of the Pupp and Mattoni families in 1912
The Neo-Baroque building features several , all of which are covered with a dome that's crowned with a . Underneath some parts of the roof , you can either see , , or embellished with foliage. The building features all sorts of , some of which are supported by and some include wrought iron railings adorned with and floral decorations, or stone balustrades including . Balusters are also used in the stone balustrades that are placed on top of certain parts of the building where you're also able to see some stating the name of the building.
The garages of the Grand Hotel Pupp in 1908
The ornamentation that's used to decorate the building consists of all sorts of pediments, some of which are adorned with a decorative shell or . Certain parts of the building are decorated with , which in some cases are embellished with foliage, but to a lesser extent and are also used. Above some windows, you can admire a , while below a larger number of windows, you can admire an , which in all cases is decorated with volutes and in some cases with . The building also contains several columns and of various sizes, which are either crowned with a Doric, an Ionic, or a Corinthian . In addition, the building is embellished with various statues, some of which are placed in a , while others are placed in a as either an or a .
The kitchen team of Grandhotel Pupp in 1927