VIII - The Hotel König Laurin, Bozen, 1909-1911
Exhibition in the foyer "Architecture on tour"
03/11/2026
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08/11/2026
Architecture on tour
Touriseum
The grand hotel as a “total work of art”.
The Ludwig brothers designed a closed, box-shaped structure. They accentuated the street side with a large entrance canopy, adding marble terraces on either side. They complemented the upper façades with balconies and horizontal cornices: among the most beautiful decorations there are the fruit garlands. To realise these motifs, they produced hand drawings in 1:1 scale: some of the few surviving drafts are now in the Touriseum collection.
The Ludwig brothers not only built the hotel with its 125 rooms; they also designed its interior. Their goal was an establishment that would offer international stylishness, functionality and comfort. They thus took their cue from 18th-century British furniture design, which enjoyed a resurgence in popularity during the Belle Époque. With the hotel’s stylistic diversity ranging from Baroque to Rococo and Classicism, it satisfied (almost) every taste.
Architects such as the Ludwig brothers did not merely copy historical models; they reworked them. They “modernised” forms and integrated the comfortable innovations of the time into their designs.
As an example, they incorporated electric lighting into the richly decorated chandeliers that were a further feature of the Baroque-style rooms.
The highlight of these “hybrids” of past and present were the frescoes depicting the Laurin saga, painted by a contemporary artist in the hotel bar.
Bettina Schlorhaufer