Stories
Emperor Napoleon, Udo Jürgens and many other famous guests have experienced the Sandwirth as a magical place to LOVE, and it has remained the same over the centuries.
Today this tradition of warmth and passion is continued by Helvig Kanduth, whose personal love story began at the Sandwirth Hotel. Indeed, “Mrs. Sandwirth” met her husband Robert in the hotel. From that evening onwards her heart has been linked to the hotel from a professional and personal point of view.
But it’s not just romantic love that blesses Sandwirth hotel; CORDIALITY IS A PERMANENT GUEST. The facility has been, and still is, home to many charities such as Rotary, Lions, Soroptimist, Kiwanis or the legendary Drahrer, who as early as 1916 went around leaving Christmas gifts for poor boys and girls.
But nobody has shaped the history of the Sandwirth Hotel more than Franziska and Josef Jamek, indeed, this establishment was their great common love. With warmth and passion, Franzi – as she was affectionately called by her husband – and Josef gave their hotel a soul that lives on in the walls even today.
FRANZISKA JAMEK
ALIAS FRANZI
Host with a passion
Franzi was a cook out of passion.
Her herring salad was legendary and her homemade SANDWIRTH PUDDING became the flagship of the establishment. It was, so to speak, the Sachertorte of Klagenfurt.
NAPOLEON
The conqueror
Even Emperor Napoleon, at the Sandwirth hotel, once again lived up to his fame as a conqueror (of hearts). Indeed, during his stay as a guest, the “great” Corsican had a relationship with a beautiful inhabitant of Klagenfurt. It is said that, in memory of this, Bonaparte received a handmade marzipan heart as a gift from this pretty woman. A WAY TO A MAN’S HEART IS THROUGH HIS STOMACH.
History
The Sandwirth Hotel on Lake Wörthersee is one of the most historic buildings in Klagenfurt, the capital of the region.
The structure was first mentioned in a document dated 1658. Franz Anton Rohr of Rohrau bought the house in 1735 near the ramparts, in the immediate vicinity of the Villach Gate, and initially established a restaurant there. The inn at the ramparts continued to exist for several decades, under new owners. Jakob Ulbing bought the house at no. 317 of Fürstengasse on 7 November 1813 and called it “the Sandwirth”.
The Jamek family ran the house for over 100 years, until the turn of the century. Franziska and Josef Jamek turned the house into a social meeting place in Klagenfurt. The herring festival, the Sunday roast in the restaurant and the Sandwirth hazelnut pudding (still prepared according to the original recipe) were all legendary.
Robert Kanduth took over the Sandwirth at the start of this century and in 2002 transformed it into a 4-star hotel. In 2003 the new owner had his first date with his future wife Helvig at the Hotel Sandwirth and so this hotel, full of history, gained a new family. Since then Helvig Kanduth has been running the family business.
