Hotel Sacher

Hotel Sacheris afive-starluxuryhotelinVienna, Austria, facing theVienna State Operain the city's centralInnere Stadtdistrict. It is famous for the specialty of the house, theSachertorte, a chocolate cake with apricot filling. There is also an art gallery in the hotel, with works from the 19th century. The hotel is located near the former residence ofAntonio Vivaldi. Hotel Sacher is a member ofThe Leading Hotels of the World, a marketing network.
The hotel was founded in 1876 as amaison meubléeat the site of the demolishedTheater am Kärntnertorby the restaurateur andk.u.k.purveyor to the courtEduard Sacher[de](1843–1892). His father, the confectionerFranz Sacher(1816–1907), had become famous for his Sachertorte, which he allegedly created for a reception given by Austrian State ChancellorKlemens von Metternichin 1832. Eduard Sacher did an apprenticeship at the patisserieDemeland in 1873 opened his first restaurant onKärntner Straße.
In 1880, he marriedAnna Sachernée Fuchs (1859–1930), who became managing director after his death. She quickly earned a reputation for both her commercial skills and her eccentricity, never being seen without herFrench Bulldogsand a cigar. Under her management, Hotel Sacher became one of the finest hotels in the world, where thearistocracyand diplomats would meet. However, afterWorld War I, Anna Sacher upheld the upper-class reputation of the hotel and denied service to guests of non-aristocratic descent while granting generous credit to impoverished aristocrats. Her management ran the business into financial problems,and eventually tobankruptcyand a change of ownership in the 1930s.
In 1934, the hotel business was taken over by theGürtler familyunder the company name "Eduard SacherGmbH& Co OHG", and the building was extensively renovated.After the end of World War II,Allied-occupied Austria, like Germany, was divided into four zones by the victorious powers. Vienna, like Berlin, was also subdivided into four zones. During the occupation, the British used the hardly damaged Hotel Sacher as their headquarters and it appears inCarol Reed's filmThe Third Man, as script writerGraham Greenewas a regular at the hotel bar while doing research in Vienna. On August 4, 1947, two suitcase bombs exploded in the basement of the hotel. The terrorist groupIrgunclaimed responsibility for the bombing.
Since 1989, the Gürtler family has also owned the formerÖsterreichischer Hofhotel inSalzburg, which reopened as theHotel Sacher Salzburg. The Hotel Sacher in Vienna added another floor with a spacious spa area on its roof in 2005/06, which caused a stir with historic preservationists. The Sachertorte is still served in the hotel restaurant after decades of litigation with the Demel patisserie were brought to an end.
Among the famous guests over the decades were not only EmperorFranz Josephbut also KingEdward VIIIandWallis Simpson, QueenElizabeth IIandPrince Philip, PrinceRainier III of MonacoandGrace Kelly, PresidentJohn F. Kennedyand many others. Being close to the opera house, Hotel Sacher has also been popular among artists such asHerbert von Karajan,Leonard Bernstein,Leo Slezak,Plácido Domingo,José Carreras, andRudolf Nureyev.
On 31 March 1969,John LennonandYoko Onogave a well received "Bagism" press conference in Hotel Sacher.
Anna Sacher and her hotel were memorialised inDennis Wheatley's 1950 novel about the outbreak of the First World War,The Second Seal. Appearing as herself, she plays a fictional role in the events of June/July 1914 in Vienna, aiding the book's hero theDuke de Richleauat several points.
The hotel also found fame in the German-speaking world via the 1939 filmHotel Sacher, as well as by the popular Austrian TV seriesHallo – Hotel Sacher … Portier!, starringFritz Eckhardt.Romy Schneiderstayed at Hotel Sacher during the shooting ofSissiin 1955. DirectorErnst Marischkaallegedly had been inspired by her resemblance to a statue ofEmpress Elisabethin the hotel.The 2016 Austrian historical drama television seriesDas Sacherrevolved around fictional events in the hotel.
48°12′14″N16°22′10″E﻿ / ﻿48.20389°N 16.36944°E﻿ /48.20389; 16.36944