The (His)Story begins in
Basel
In 1867, exactly 7 years after the definitive opening of Basel's central railway station, the Grand Hotel Euler was completed in the immediate vicinity and became the first hotel on the square, right next to the Hotel Schweizerhof...
Inventive Merchant & Hotel Founder
In 1860, the clever merchant Abraham Euler-Brunner acquired a large plot of land right next to the imposing new Central Station. In 1866, with the help of his son Albert and skilled master builders, he built a noble grand hotel. For the then handsome sum of 8,000 francs, he was granted the right to run a tavern and was able to open the Grand Hotel Euler in splendour 157 years ago. Immediately afterwards, the Grand Hotel Euler became the first hotel on the square.
The Hotel Founder & his Successors
The level of comfort in the new Grand Hotel Euler was unrivalled at the time. The then brand-new American invention - the passenger lift - was installed in the Grand Euler. When it opened, most of the guests were aristocrats from Russia who stopped off at the Grand Hotel on their way to the Côte d'Azur. Abraham Euler was a striking personality. He was regarded as an innovative entrepreneur with a talent for immediately recognising aristocratic travellers incognito despite their simple appearance (in order to remain anonymous). Without realising it themselves, they were thus given the best rooms.
Just over a year after the hotel opened, the initiator and founder retired to private life and handed over the management of the hotel to his son Albert and his wife Elise Barth. However, as the Euler couple had no male descendants, the hotel passed into the hands of the famous hotel pioneer Franz-Josef Bucher, who already owned the "Palace" hotels in Lucerne and Milan as well as the "Quirinal" in Rome and the "Semiramis" in Cairo. From 1907 to 1975, the hotel was owned by the Michel family, who had immigrated from Thuringia and acquired the showpiece for 1.1 million gold francs.
Hosted Kings & Statesmen
With the new patron, the first major renovation was also due. The immense luxury of central heating was realised and bathrooms on each floor were built. However, the First World War soon put the brakes on the desire to travel. The guests stayed away. This remained the case even after the end of the war in November 1918. But in the 1920s, the Euler quickly became one of Europe's top addresses again. Further sensational renovations - including water connections and even individual bathrooms in the guest rooms - followed. The Euler in Basel was the "place to be" for Europe's authorities and aristocracy. Until the Second World War hit the hotel hard again. This time, too, the hotel only regained its former splendour in peacetime.
The guest list reads like a who's who of celebrities from the worlds of politics and culture. In addition to crowned heads such as King Albert and Queen Elisabeth of Belgium, Queen Alexandrine with Crown Prince Frederick of Denmark and Her Royal Highness Princess Victoria of England, many artists were also guests at the Grand Hotel. These included composer Igor Stravinsky, pianist Artur Rubinstein, conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler, writers Hugo von Hofmannsthal and Thomas Mann, opera singers Leo Slezak and Richard Tauber. Later, stars such as Paul Simon and politicians such as Germany's post-war president Theodor Heuss also stayed at the Grand Hotel Euler.
Gastronomiques"
After the Second World War, a fourth floor was added to the hotel. The "Semaines Gastronomiques" were legendary. Famous chefs such as Haeberlin, La mère Brasier and Lapérouse were guests at the Euler for four weeks at a time. The high gastronomic standard of the Euler kitchen even earned it two Michelin stars at times.
Grand Seigneur of the Swiss Hotel Industry
The birth of his twin sons Alexander and Michael in 1980 prompted Caspar E. Manz, the grand seigneur of the Swiss hotel industry, to purchase the Euler in 1981, his fourth hotel in Switzerland alongside the Hotel St. Gotthard on Zurich's Bahnhofstrasse, the Hotel Continental Lausanne and the 5-star Hotel de la Paix in Geneva. Together with his wife Ljuba Manz-Lurje, he brought the grand hotel back to its former glory. Today, the hotel belongs to the Manz Privacy Group, of which Ljuba Manz-Lurje is Chairman of the Board.