Hotel Imperial
Ringstrasse
Hotel Imperial is situated along the circular road surrounding the Innere Stadt district of Vienna, known as Ringstraße. It is ranked as one of the popular five-star luxury hotel in Vienna, Austria.
The concept design of the building was done by an architect named Arnold Zenetti. Construction began in 1863 under the supervision and management of Heinrich Adam. The building was originally intended to serve as the city palace for Duke Philipp of Wurttemberg and his wife Duchess Marie Therese. The supposed to be palace was then given the name Palais Wurttemberg. The plan did not last long because the couple, then Duke and Duchess were not satisfied enough with their new home. Five years after settling there in 1866, the couple decided to sell their home.
In 1873, the supposed to be palace was transformed into a hotel. Improvements were carried out including the addition of two storeys in the year 1928. In spite of all the enhancement and expansion carried out in Hotel Imperial, the management made it a point to retain its original architecture as a vital element in establishing the elegant and luxurious atmosphere in every portion of the hotel.
You may not believe this, but it is indeed a fact that the very famous Adolf Hitler used to work in this hotel as a day laborer. This occurred during his younger days as a virtual vagabond in Vienna. After the 1938 Anschluss, the annexation of Austria into Greater Germany by the Nazi regime, Hitler returned not as a laborer but as an honored guest in the Imperial Hotel.
At present, Imperial Hotel is a very luxurious and exclusive five-star hotel wherein most dignified visitors are being housed during visits to Vienna. This includes the Emperor and Empress of Japan during their stopover in Vienna in the year 2002.
