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Wuerttemberg Palace
(Hotel Imperial)
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The Hotel Imperial on Austria's
national holiday (October 26, 2005).The Hotel Imperial is a five-star luxury
hotel in Vienna, Austria. It is located at the Ringstraße.
The building was designed by architect
Arnold Zenetti and built under the direction of Heinrich Adam in 1863.
Initially, it was planned as a city palace (Stadtpalais) of Duke Philipp of
Württemberg (1838-1917) and his spouse Duchess Marie Therese (1845-1927),
nee Archduchess of Austria, and its original name was Palais Württemberg.
However, the Duke and the Duchess did not like their new home very much and,
after having moved there in 1866, sold it only five years later. For the
Universal Exhibition it was converted into a hotel in 1873. In 1928, two
storeys were added. But the original architecture is still very much in
evidence and is an integral part of the luxurious atmosphere. |
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The hotel's famous guests are too
numerous to list. It has had some infamous guests as well, however.
Adolf Hitler, who worked at the hotel as a day laborer during his
youthful period as a virtual tramp in Vienna, returned as an honored
guest following the 1938 Anschluss. One of the less dignified arrivals
at the hotel was that of Benito Mussolini, who was shepherded through
the back door on Sept. 13, 1943 following his spectacular rescue by
German paratroops in Unternehmen Eiche (Operation Oak).
Today it is an exclusive five-star hotel in Vienna. Guests of state are
normally housed there, such as the Emperor and Empress of Japan on their
visit in 2002.
A speciality of the house is the
Tart Imperial, based on a secret recipe which is said to come from an
apprentice cook who created it when Emperor Franz Joseph opened the
Hotel in 1873. This confection can be ordered worldwide because it is
possible to hold it fresh for two months.
Text Source: Wikipedia
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