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Romantik Hotel Wilden Mann
Lucerne, Switzerland · Independent · Near Luxury
On 21 February 1517 the Lucerne treasurer's cash book records the farmers of Kriens eating and drinking at the Wilde Mann, then a wine inn on the Schmiedgasse, which is Bahnhofstrasse now. Registered as a hotel in 1860, it was remade in 1864 by Franz Estermann, a Lucerne officer just back from Naples, into the leading hotel on the left bank. Seven old-town buildings hold forty-eight rooms, and the neo-Gothic Burgerstube of 1908 still carries painted coats of arms on the beams.
- 48 rooms
- Opened 1860
- Neighborhood: Altstadt
About Romantik Hotel Wilden Mann
- The house cannot say why it is named for the wild man, the hairy guardian figure on Lucerne's blue and white coat of arms.
- Salomea Bachmann bought house and yard in 1699 for 2,574 guilders. The Dommann family of Emmen paid 17,000 guilders in 1846, and Estermann married into that family after Naples fell.
- Lucerne architect Heinrich Meili-Wapf dressed the interiors in a medieval manner, after the neo-Gothic stair of the Suidter pharmacy next door, and with Paul Segesser he roofed the terrace on Burgstrasse.
- Each carnival the Saffron Guild collects the Fritschi father from the door for the Bärtelieesen. The house has belonged to Swiss Historic Hotels since 2008, and it is a founding member of Romantik Hotels in Switzerland.
History
The Wilde Mann enters the record on 21 February 1517, when treasurer Hans von Hertenstein noted a bill for the farmers of Kriens. It stood on the Schmiedgasse in the Affenwagen quarter, now Bahnhofstrasse in the old town. The houses on Martin Martini's 1597 plan were rebuilt early in the eighteenth century. Salomea Bachmann bought house and yard in 1699. The Dommann family of Emmen bought the inn in 1846. It was registered as a hotel in 1860. Franz Estermann, a Lucerne officer in Neapolitan service who married into the owning family, enlarged it in 1864 and made it the leading hotel on the left bank. Otto Suidter added a floor in 1866. The operation now spans seven houses. The Burgerstube was refitted in a neo-Gothic manner in 1908, with painted carvings, coats of arms, and leaded glass. Liberal societies, the Trokenbund and the Gesellschaft Eintracht, met here in the later nineteenth century. The wild man on the sign is the guardian figure of Lucerne's blue and white coat of arms. Sophia Loren has been a guest. Each carnival the Saffron Guild still collects the Fritschi father from the door.
The setting
Bahnhofstrasse 30 is the old Schmiedgasse, in the heart of Lucerne's old town near the Franciscan church, a few steps from where ships once met the road to the Gotthard. The complex also reaches Burgerstrasse and Münzgasse. This is not the station bus yard.
Restaurants and bars
- Taverne zur Alten Münz — Restaurant
Experiences
- Chäs & Gschwellti — Monthly cheese and boiled-potato evening in the Taverne zur Alten Münz, with 25 cheeses selected by Roland Lobsiger. CHF 52 excl. drinks.
- Raclette in der Taverne zur Alten Münz — Raclette evenings with specialty cheeses selected by Roland Lobsiger, served with side dishes. CHF 48 excl. drinks.
- «Pizza, Pasta, Mord» DinnerKrimi — Interactive murder-mystery dinner with a four-act crime story and three-course menu. CHF 165 incl. aperitif, mineral water and coffee/tea.
- Winter Wonderland — Fondue served outdoors on the terrace, seated on warm fur under blankets with cosy lighting.
Open Romantik Hotel Wilden Mann in the atlas for live weekend rates, photos, and the full folio.
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