21 Okt in Hotel News As you probably know, Rogaška Slatina is known mainly for the healing water, and it is no secret that the healing powers of our mineral water were used also by the Romans. However; it was the Habsburg monarchy which contributed to construction of our hotel. The current Grand Hotel Rogaska is the third version of the building. As I have already mentioned, the Habsburg monarchy contributed significantly towards the building of our hotel. The archduke John was consulting with the architects, the main one being Matthäus Pertsch, and they built a small hotel (in comparison to the one that you see today) in 1813 for the guests who came here to try out the effects of the mineral water. It was not long before the second hotel was built, also known as Zdraviliški dom or ‚Health home‘ (literally), which looked pretty much the same as the one we are in today. It was built completely in 1859 and it was a favourite resort of the count Attems and his wife. I cannot but mention that in 1846 the famous pianist, Franz Liszt, performed his virtuoso masterpieces in the new splendid hall, which was called Ferdinand’s hall, following a visit by this Emperor. Another Emperor who was impressed very much by the beauty of this building and the magnificent hall is Franz Joseph I. Sadly, on celebrating his birthday, the building was burnt to the ground in 1910. However, Slovenians are a hard-working and persistent nation, so it is no wonder that we built another, almost identical yet slightly more modern hotel, in just two years time! It was also the count Attems who wanted the building to be re-built. During this construction they added another floor, where they built today’s Music Hall, which is actually my favourite room in the hotel. First, that hall was meant to be a theatre, because they had similar room in the previous building, but they had a summer theatre outside at that time so it was not used so much for that purpose. From 1951 that room became a cinema, and it was very popular among the locals; I can still remember it; because I went there to see my first film at the cinema (it was Titanic actually, what a cliché!). It is no longer used as a cinema, but it brings back so many nice memories, and sometimes I can even feel the emotions that this hall has kept forever by hosting so many different events (theatre, cinema, music, meetings, etc). I am sure that you have also heard about Anna’s Ball. It began in the 19th century because Saint Anne was praised in this area at that time as a symbol of health and motherhood. Anna’s ball became one of the best known and prestigious balls in the Styria region and it was performed in the Crystal Hall as it is nowadays. Of course, visiting our Crystal Hall is a must when you are in Rogaška, because it is simply magnificent! There are four oil paintings by A. Schrötter, showing historical events in our town and hand-made crystal chandeliers, so imagine this together with concerts we have; just stunning! I hope this has helped describe the history of the Grand Hotel Rogaška, and now we invite you to be a part of its present and future!
