Admiralspalast Hotel in Zabrze

The Admiralspalast Hotel at Wolności 305 in Zabrze is a modernist building from the 1920s, designed by the Berlin architects Richard Bielenberg and Josef Moser. Its distinctive feature is a rounded corner crowned with a dome about 11 metres in diameter.

Why the foundation is concrete

The building stands above the Main Key Hereditary Adit (Główna Kluczowa Sztolnia Dziedziczna), and right above the adit lies quicksand. The earlier Fleischer hotel collapsed in 1916, probably because of the unstable ground. The new building was therefore set on a two-metre concrete slab. Construction lasted four years from 1924.

Opening in stages

The facility was opened gradually: first, in May 1926, a Bavarian beer hall, in October 1926 the first floor with a café, a restaurant and a ballroom for 500 people, and at Christmas 1927 a roof garden with a dance floor for 350 guests. On the second to fourth floors there were 48 hotel rooms, each with a washbasin with running water.

Architecture

The building combines modernism with Art Deco elements, and the inspiration was the architecture of the Chicago school. Its expression is determined by the rounded corner, pronounced lesenes and a vertical arrangement recalling Expressionism. On the second and third floors the façade has a metal section, and on the side façades five relief heads are placed, said to represent the peoples of five continents. Inside there is a lift, and stuccowork and the original door joinery have also survived.

After the war

After the Second World War the hotel operated under the names Prezydent, Przodownik and Monopol until 1995, and the ground floor housed a bank for a long time. Renovation with a view to reopening began in 2012 but was soon halted. In January 2022 the building was bought by the city of Zabrze, which planned a thorough renovation to a design by Tomasz Konior. The site is entered in the heritage register.

Nearby

About 700 metres away stands the Teatr Nowy in Zabrze, and less than two kilometres further the Guido Mine (Guido Mine and Coal Mining Museum).

Practical information

• Address: ul. Wolności 305, Zabrze.
• The state of works and the possibility of entering the interiors change, so check them with the city information before your visit; the building can be seen from the street.