(Re)discover our city - Hôtel de la Paix

Think you know our capital well? Well, let's see about that! Some of the buildings that you walk past on a regular basis have a special story behind them. Dr Robert L. Philippart is a true expert on the subject and will take you through the city to uncover these hidden stories, giving you a new way of looking at some of our symbolic buildings.

Hôtel de la Paix

The Hôtel de la Paix, once located at no. 58 Avenue de la Liberté (now the Pâtisserie Hoffman) has a remarkable frontage. Although the Avenue de la Liberté was inaugurated in 1903, the stretch from the plateau Bourbon to the place de Paris was designed and developed in 1906. The section built between the place de la Gare and the place de Paris dates from 1904. The narrow gauge railway and electric tramway ran in front of the old Hôtel de la Paix. Yet despite the busy traffic, the area next to the building and forming the corner with rue Glesener remained undeveloped right up until 1947.

Former Hôtel Kimmel

Given the high volume of tourist accommodation near the station, the decision to build a three-storey, 30-room hotel took entrepreneurial courage. The Hôtel de la Paix was only 150m from the station and around 500m from the city centre. In April 1914, café owner Nic Kimmel, who lived on the boulevard de la Pétrusse, had an apartment building constructed on Avenue Adolphe (Avenue de la Liberté) in which he set up Café Kimmel and also a hairdressing salon, as an additional source of income. The building was delivered in March 1915, at which point the hair salon was rented out with accommodation above.  In 1916, the café became the Hôtel Kimmel. In 1921, having lost the son intended to take over the premises, Nic Kimmel sold the hotel business to J. P. Schmit, maître d’ of the Casino Bourgeois, and rented the building to him. The establishment then became known as the Hôtel de la Paix. In 1927, Mr Pierre Grotz, a railway worker in Bettembourg, and his brother, bought the goodwill in the Hôtel de la Paix, while Nicolas Kimmel retained ownership of the building. The hotel was sold in 1931 to Antoine Possamai, hotelier and co-founder of the Cercle des Italiens restaurant.  Joseph Possami-Bergamini, owner of Hôtel Chicago, sold the Hôtel de la Paix in 1933 to the family of Paul Braun-Hames, formerly maître d’ at the Hôtel de Paris. They continued to own the hotel until it closed in the 1960s.

Amazing architecture.

The establishment, whose architect remains unknown, offered ten rooms on each floor but had neither lift nor garages, whereas the Clesse, Alfa, Walsheim and Kons hotels all provided these facilities. The rooms had hot and cold water and central heating. Each was furnished with a double bed, bedside tables, double-door oak wardrobe and marble-topped dressing table. The façade at ground floor was beautifully symmetrical with windows alternating with the entrances to the hotel and the hairdressing salon. Also on the ground floor, to the left-hand side, was a separate entrance to the hotel with a window giving onto the avenue to let light into the building. At the centre of the façade the entrance to the restaurant was flanked on both sides with a picture window featuring a basket-handle arch. At the far right of the frontage was the entrance to the Auguste Stein hair salon, the window of which was identical to the restaurant window alongside. The name of the establishment could only be seen from the street, when passing in front of the building.

Located in a quiet part of the Avenue

Located in a quiet part of the Avenue de la Liberté, well-known for its brawls, thefts and harassment of passers-by, the hotel was at times suspected of being a bordello. In an article on 14 February 1928, the Luxemburger Wort reported that the hotel manager had been accused of involvement in a sex scandal, stating that "Nicht weniger als 8 Weibsbilder (meist Ausländerinnen), die in dem Hause beschäftigt waren, wurden ebenfalls abgeführt" – "No fewer than 8 women (mostly foreign) who worked in the establishment have also been thrown out".

In the 1930s, the price policy set by Paul Braun-Hames for his restaurant confirmed his determination to attract a middle class clientèle. The very attractive set price of ten francs for four dishes was clearly displayed in the restaurant windows. It was a third less than the rate offered in most places in the capital and listed in the hotel guide. In 1937/38, Paul Braun started to promote his French aperitifs, the refreshing Funck-Bricher beer and the Schengener Fels Riesling-Sylvaner. He talked of a "new style" restaurant and promised variety evenings on the 30th of every month. After the war, the restaurant was also a popular venue for family celebrations and weddings. The hotel offered special prices for travelling businessmen.

Meeting with the Ganymed Union

Paul Braun's background in hospitality had brought him into contact with Ganymed, the union for hotel, restaurant and café employees. On 31 May 1935, the German-language newspaper the Escher Tageblatt reported that during the meeting it was "unzweideutig zu erkennen, daß die "Ganymed" heute stark und aktiv da steht und nicht nur den Kellnerberuf von großem Nutzen ist, sondern durch ihre intelligente Aktivität und das Höherheben des Niveaus indirekt auch dem Hotelgewerbe und dem Tourismus bedeutende Dienste leistet". The 1940 meeting held at the hotel confirmed its struggle against the decline of tourism and called for measures to counter unemployment.  However, the Nazi regime abolished the unions and instead set up the "Verband des Gaststätten-und Beherbergungsgewerbe", insisting that affiliation to both this and the "Reicherholungswerk der Deutschen Arbeitsfront"was compulsory.

After the war

 In 1941 the hotel took the name "Bahnhofs-Hotel Paul Braun". With the war over, in 1950 Paul Braun once again assumed ownership of the Hôtel de la Paix and was one of the Luxembourg sponsors of the Tour de France.

 Following the closure of the establishment, the building was converted for use as offices and doctors' surgeries. The former restaurant became a patisserie with a café area, which is still in business today. A sauna was installed in the basement. The entrance is in the same location as that leading to the old hairdressing salon.

Old picture post card of the Hôtel de la Paix