The (His)Story begins in
Zurich
In 1889, Caspar Manz acquired a small property, which was considered highly speculative, on the outskirts of the city at that time and in what was still a fairly insignificant part of Zurich. The Hotel St. Gotthard was born. Caspar Manz travelled extensively to America to promote the new small Hotel St. Gotthard...
Speculation, Courage and Growth
In 1889, the Hotel St. Gotthard merely consisted of a small building. One year later, in 1890, Caspar Manz bought the neighbouring property at Schützengasse 15, which he annexed to the small hotel. In 1898, the "Hotel de l'Europe" at Schützengasse 17 was purchased, which also provided a further extension to the main St. Gotthard building. By 1907, five buildings already formed a large hotel complex.
In line with the current trend and yet a step ahead
Ernst Manz, Caspar Manz's son, marries Gertrud Meisten in 1909. His parents die in the same year. One year later, in 1910, Ernst Manz took over the Hotel St. Gotthard as its sole owner. Under his management, the five assembled, formerly individual houses went through numerous renewals. Over the next two decades, the First World War and the Great Depression followed, with accompanying global recessions. Nevertheless, Ernst Manz continues to realise the latest achievements in line with the trend of the era, depending on financial possibilities.
As early as 1913, guests are provided with hot running water in their rooms. In 1914, the St. Gotthard winery and wine shop was established. In 1920, the first room telephones are installed and bathrooms are introduced on each floor. The hotel is renovated around 1929. A costly endeavour in the wake of the Great Depression and a recession in Switzerland. Despite the tough circumstances, the expansion of the hotel continues. Gradually, and by 1959, all rooms were equipped with private bathrooms. An uncommon luxury at the time.
About Pioneering Work and 100 Oysters
In 1935, Ernst Manz created the lobster and oyster bar in what was then called the Zuftsäli. At that time he was the very first in Zurich to offer this delicious seafood. A pioneering gastronomic effort. The original idea was to bring to life a place where connoisseurs could savour the delicacies. To achieve this, a new ambience had to be created. And of course, both French cuisine and good Bordeaux wines were essential. The lobster bar "Hummerbar" was born.
Caspar E. Manz, son of founder Ernst Manz, recalls the hotel's 100th anniversary in his book:
The first 100 oysters that were offered were mostly enjoyed by me and my father. The problem at the beginning was that the Swiss didn't recognise oysters and had no idea what to do with them. But now all Swiss people know what oysters are and we have made our contribution. In the year 2000, over 100,000 oysters were savoured by guests at the Lobster Bar and it can therefore be said that the Lobster Bar has built up a worldwide reputation in gastronomy."
Host at Heart and Soul
Caspar E. Manz was born in 1923 as the youngest of five children and the only son of Ernst and Gertrud Manz. Little Caspar was born with a passion for the hotel industry - and indeed, he dedicated himself to his profession with heart and soul.
Caspar E. Manz initially trained as a hotelier. This was followed by extended periods of study and experience in various countries. At the age of 23, he commanded the escort that led Churchill through the city of Bern. He joined his parents' business in 1950 and was appointed manager of the St. Gotthard in 1951. As a host first and foremost, he puts the interests of his guests above all else and knows the names of all his guests and their preferences. Under the leadership of Caspar E. Manz, showers are installed in the staff changing rooms around 1950. An entirely new floor is created - the fifth floor with 28 guest rooms is built on top of the Hotel St. Gotthard. In 1952, Caspar E. Manz marries and has four children.
In 1956, he opened the St. Gotthard Wienercafé and Boulevardcafé as street cafés, which became a Zurich institution. His father died in 1957 and he took over the Hotel St. Gotthard. The fish restaurant Bouillabaisse was established as a further culinary address around 1960. In the following years, Caspar E. Manz expanded the small family business into an empire with 50 establishments. Between 1970 and 1981, he bought the 4- and 5-star Hotels Continental in Lausanne, De la Paix in Geneva and the Hotel Euler in Basel. In 1959, he expanded abroad and founded CEM-Inter Ecuador and the Hotel Oro Verde Group. In 1971, he suffered a blow of fate that hit him hard. He lost his wife and mother of his four children following a riding accident.
Fateful Encounters and the Secret of the Woman Fishmonger
He made his fortune once again thanks to Ljuba Manz-Lurje. In 1973, as a young gourmet merchant, Ljuba approached the country's most famous oyster importer at the time, Caspar E. Manz, and tried to make her own oysters attractive to him - a truly visionary endeavour and an expression of sturdy self-confidence.
Caspar E. Manz remembers how
the telephone rang on "a beautiful Sunday morning" at the Hotel Crillon in Paris. "A pretty female voice spoke to me in a resolute tone: 'I must apologise that she's disturbing on Sunday, but I can never be reached. What she tells me is not very interesting for me: she wants to sell to me oysters. But the way she tells me, that voice, it keeps me going." On a fateful Friday the 13th in 1973, Caspar E. Manz granted the young, unknown female gourmet dealer a meet-up in Zurich's lobster bar. "Yes, Miss, how is it possible that you sell oysters cheaper than I do? You import them as well. And as you told me, from the same importer?" She starts talking at him again, while he just looks at her and thinks: "Damn pretty, damn clever! Caspar, Caspar, you're lost and saved at the same time."
Whether or not the fishmonger's secret - Ljuba added money to her oyster mix calculation that she wanted to recoup with the lobster - was revealed at that time, it was the beginning of a great love story. Caspar E. Manz and Ljuba Manz-Lurje were married on 14 August 1974. Ljuba Manz-Lurje took on the key role in his private and professional life and actively supported him from that point on. Caspar E. Manz remembers: "Ljuba looked around 'St Gotthard'. Her perception was brilliant. She learnt quickly and I was soon able to ask her for advice on many things." In 1987, he handed over the overall management of the company to his wife.
On 22 June 1980, the twin sons Alexander and Michael were born into the Manz hotel dynasty. 1987 Caspar E. Manz transfers the management of the hotel group to his wife Ljuba Manz-Lurje. In 1989, CEM becomes "Manz Privacy Hotels & Gastronomy" with the flagship Hotel St. Gotthard in Zurich. Today, this comprises the 4-star Hotel Euler in Basel, the 4-star Hotel Metropol in Basel, the 3-star Hotel City Inn in Basel, the 4-star Hotel Continental in Lausanne and the 5-star luxury Hotel De La Paix in Geneva.
Caspar E. Manz celebrated the 120th anniversary of the Hotel St. Gotthard in June 2009 as the last major milestone. It is thanks to Caspar E. Manz and his wife Ljuba Manz-Lurje that Manz Privacy Hotels Switzerland is today one of the last Swiss hotel groups in the upscale segment. As one of the last great hoteliers, Caspar E. Manz passed away in 2010 at the age of 87.
Celebrities and Secrets
Celebrities have also felt at home at the Hotel St. Gotthard for generations. The names of famous guests read like a "Who's Who" of the 20th century. During the Second World War, US General Eisenhower and British Field Marshal Montgomery met for secret talks at the Hotel St. Gotthard in 1942.
The famous Hotel St. Gotthard with its lobster bar welcomed and hosted business and political celebrities such as Henri Guisan and Henry Kissinger, the Dalai Lama, Prince Aga Khan (Shah of Persia), Princess Soraya, Archduchess Martha of Bourbon-Parma, Walter Scheel (German politician) and Richard Robert Sprüngli (Swiss entrepreneur). Migros founder Gottlieb Duttweiler was a frequent and welcome guest at the lobster bar.
International artists, musicians, composers, actors, directors and writers have also been frequently welcomed to the Hotel St. Gotthard by the Manz family over the years: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sergio Leone, Orson Welles, Lili Palmer, Maurice Chevalier, the writers Erich Kästner, Erich Maria Remarque and Alexander Solzhenyzin and musicians José Carreras, Udo Jürgens, Maria Callas, Igor Stravinsky and Isaac Stern.
The hotel in Literature, Art, Music and Film
- In the crime novel "Dame ohne Durchblick: Die Euro-Ermittler" by Michael Molsner, the main character takes a seat in the café of the Hotel St. Gotthard and feels like she's in paradise.
- In the novel A Matter of Honour by Jeffrey Archer, the main character spends the night at the Hotel St. Gotthard.
- The painter Willy Guggenheim created a portrait of a porter at the Hotel St. Gotthard in 1948. The painting is owned by the Anliker Foundation.
- Mikhail Pletnev composed the St. Gotthard anniversary march for the 120th anniversary of the Hotel St. Gotthard in 2009, which was premiered by the Zurich City Music Band, as well as the accompanying music for the ceremony.
- In the political crime film Kodeks Bestschestija ("Code of Dishonour") by W. Shilowskiy about the machinations of the Communist Party (KPSS), individual scenes take place on the premises of the Hotel St. Gotthard.