Friedrich Haerlin

Friedrich Haerlin (b. 24 February 1857 in Gaisburg; d. 28 April 1941 in Hamburg) was a Hotelier and founder of the Hotels Vier Jahreszeiten in Hamburg.

Life and Work

Friedrich Haerlin began work at an import company in Stuttgart, Germany following a business apprenticeship in 1875. In hopes to “get to know the world”, in 1876 he moved to Geneva where he found a job as a kitchen assistant in a station restaurant. After several months in this role he was hired to be a waiter by Herrmann Blaile, owner of café-restaurant Chantepoulet. Haerlin found himself at this position only a short time before taking on more interesting opportunities at "Grand Hotel Thunerhof" in Thun, the "Grand Hotel d'Orient" in Menton and the "Baur au Lac" in Zurich.

In 1981 Haerlin married Thekla Toussaint who was from Bremen and on May 1, 1893 the couple began managing "Hotel Bellevue". In 1894 their first son Otto was born, followed by their son Wilhelm in 1895. Their first daughter Frieda was born in 1896 and son Fritz was born a year later in 1897. When Haerlin turned 40 years old he bought the bankrupt hotel Vier Jahreszeiten, located on the Neuer Jungfernstieg in Hamburg for just 420.100 Reichsmark. Hotels Vier Jahreszeiten was a small and inconspicuous building with just 11 rooms and 3 bathrooms. Over time he acquired the neighbouring houses nop. 9-14 until he had the acquired the entire street. By the year 1911 the hotel had a total of 140 bedrooms and 50 bathrooms.

In 1932 Haerlin gave the hotel to his son Fritz (1897-1975). The hotel remained family-owned until 1989 and was sold for the equivalent of around 105 million euros to the Japanese Aoki Corporation.^[1] The furniture that Haerlin used during the century he owned the hotel was used up until 2001.

The Haerlin restaurant, named after Friedrich Haerlin, is known for their outstanding French cuisine. The restaurant has been awarded two Guide Michelin stars and 17 Gault-Millau points.

Literature

• Sepp Ebelseder, Michael Seufert: Vier Jahreszeiten, Europäische Verlagsanstalt, Hamburg, ISBN 978-3-43452597-4

External links

• Friedrich Haerlin: Die Biografie des Hoteliers bis zur Gründung des "Vier Jahreszeiten" in Hamburg
• Restaurant Haerlin

See also

1. ↑ Rudolf Walter Leonhardt: Ein Juwel wurde versilbert. In: Die Zeit from 19 January 1990