Hotel Phoenix Copenhagen

Hotel Phoenix Copenhagen is a hotel located at the corner of Bredgade (No. 37) and Dronningens Tværgade (No. 1-3) in Copenhagen, Denmark. The first Hotel Phoenix opened at the site in 1848 but closed when it was confiscated by the Germans during World War II. The building was after the war converted into a new headquarters for the Danish Communist Party and the newspaper Land og Folk. The building was acquired by Arp-Hansen Hotel Group in 1990 and reopened as a hotel the following year.. It is mentioned in Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth,

Hotel Phoenix Copenhagen
General information
LocationCopenhagen, Denmark
Coordinates55°40′58.4″N 12°35′19.9″E
Opening1991 (1991)
OwnerArp-Hansen Hotel Group
ManagementArp-Hansen Hotel Group
Other information
Number of rooms213
Number of restaurants1
Website
Hotel web site

History

Gyldensten's mansion
Jean The Plessen Mansion

The still undeveloped site at the corner of Bredgade and Dronningens Tværgade was in the middle of the 17th century owned by the pharmacist Esaias Fleischer. He was the owner of the Lopn Pharmacy on Amagertorv as well as property in several other locations in the city. In 1670, a few years after his death, it was sold to Hans Arenfeld, a nobleman and owner of Knivholt Manor at Frederikshavn.

Jean The Gyldensten Mansion in Dronningens Tværgade painted by Rach and Eegberg in c. 1750

It was later acquired by commander of the Royal Horse Guards Samuel Christoph von Plessen. In circa 1780, he constructed a two-storey town mansion at the site. He left Copenhagen when the Royal Horse Guards were moved to Møn in 1785 but kept the house in Bredgade. Its value was estimated at 16,000 Danish rigsdaler at the time of his death in 1704.

Advertisement for Stadt Hamburg from c. 1838

The property was later acquired by count Jean Henri Huguetan Gyldensteen. He adapted the building in 1740. Gyldensten passed the house on to his illegitimate son Jean Henri Desmercières in 1749. He constructed a new wing towards Dronningens Tværgade as an individual Rococo-style town mansion.

At the turn of the 19th century it was owned by grocer Peder Erichsen. At this point it was the only privately owned building in Copenhagen whose facade featured a clock.

Hotel Stadt Hamburg

In 1837, the property was acquired by restaurateur and hotelier W. Murdoch from »Stadet Lauenburg« in Store Strandstræde. He converted it into a hotel under the name »Stadt Hamburg«. The shipbroking firm N. Schiøtt & Hochbrandt was based at Dronningens Tværgade 1-3 from 1820-46. It then moved to new premises at No. 10.[1]

Hotel Phoenix opens
Hotel Phoenix in c. 1860
The Cavellier Hall in Hotel Phoenix, c. 1900

In 1847 it was acquired by an aktieselskab. The old building was demolished and Hotel Phønix opened in a new building in 1848. The hotel was frequently used for housing guests of the nobility as well as the royal family.

The hotel was privately owned from 1883 to 1919. In 1891, Carl Neiiendam bought the hotel from the grocer Christopher Emil Sødring.[2] He was appointed to Royal Court Hotelier after the hotel had been used for housing some of the guests for King Christian IX and Queen Louise's fold wedding in 1892.[3] Carl Neiiendam sold the hotel in 1917.

Closure and reopening
The hotel in c. 1900

Hotel Phoenix was confiscated by the occupying German forces during World War II. The building was used as local headquarters of the German Navy.

German soldiers on guard at the entrance to the confiscated hotel in 1945

In October 1945, a few months after the liberation, Hotel Phoenix was acquired by the Danish Communist Party. Ole Buhl and Harald Petersen were commissioned to adapt the building for its new use as party headquarters in 1946. The party's newspaper Land og Folk and several other associated activities were also based in the building.

Arp-Hansen acquired the building in 1990. The architect Robert Grünbreger refurbished the hotel in 1990-1991.[4]

Today

Hotel Phoenix Copenhagen has 213 rooms and suites. Facilities include Brasserie Murdoch’s Books & Ale, meeting and conference rooms and fitness centre.

Cultural references

In Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth, Professor Lidenbroch and Axcel stay at Hotel Phenix when they pass through Copenhagen on their way to Iceland.[5]

Further reading
  • Bokkenheuser,Knud: Hotel Phoenix og dets Historie igennem 80 Aa. Gyldendals Trykkeri, Copenhagen, 1926 (45 pages, illustrated)

References
  1. "N. Schiøtt & Hochbrandt". coneliand.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  2. "Carl Neiiendam". Dansk Biografisk Leksikon (in Danish). Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  3. "De Københavnske Hoteller". filatelisten.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  4. "Bredgade 37 / Dronningens Tværgade 1-". indenforvoldene.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  5. "Jules Verne i København i billeder". jules-verne.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 14 March 2017.
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