If there was one house in Erkelenz that could tell many stories, it would be the Hotel Rheinischer Hof at Kölner Straße 18, formerly better known as Hotel Breuer. Because the beginnings of the house date back to 1925 and thus exactly 100 years ago. Many well-known stars from film and television were guests of today's small, owner-managed boutique hotel in the heart of the city. These included the actors Horst Tappert, Jürgen Prochnow, Hardy Krüger Junior, Horst Janson, the musician Johnny Logan and the actress and singer Meret Becker. And it was not so long ago that the film crew stayed in the hotel for the film "Rather Fly Here UFOs" with actress Johanna Gastdorf, a film about the resettlement in the course of the lignite opencast mine.
What is not historically documented by photos and autograph cards has been supplemented over time by the stories of guests. For example, the current owners Kathrin Elsner and Torsten Wink only learned about the In 1947, the actor Joachim Fuchsberger was accommodated in the hotel as a construction worker by the company "Franz Schotten Betonwerk" in Hückelhoven. Other documents such as invitation cards testify to the fact that people liked to celebrate at the Hotel Rheinischer Hof. In the 50s and 60s, for example, the owner at the time, Franz Breuer, invited people to the "annual Möhnetreiben with the Charly Bergrath Trio on Altweiberfastnacht" and to the "traditional house ball" on Shrove Monday. The invitation cards were always designed by Franz Breuer himself. The history of the house is unthinkable without the name Breuer. For example, the married couple Wilhelm and Helene Breuer, who come from Hottdorf, opened a bakery and confectionery in Erkelenz in the 1920s. In the course of time, guest rooms were added. On 9 March 1925, the city of Erkelenz finally granted the concession as a hotel under the name "Rheinischer Hof – Breuer". From 1927 there is still a newspaper advertisement where the hotel was was advertised as the "most modern house on the square with its own confectionery and artists' concert every Sunday". At the end of the 1930s, son Franz Breuer took over the hotel and rebuilt it after it was destroyed by the war in 1943 together with his wife Elisabeth. The confectionery developed into a restaurant that was very popular with the people of Alt-Erkelenz and was also popular for wedding celebrations. "Our breakfast room today used to be the hotel kitchen," says Kathrin Elsner. At that time, the 180-square-metre restaurant was located where a fashion store is today. In 1978, the Breuer couple decided to downsize the hotel in order to have more time for the family with their son Wilhelm J. Breuer and to continue to run the house as a "hotel garni". When Franz Breuer died in 1980, it was Elisabeth, then known to everyone as "Elly", who continued the fortunes of the house. In 1999, Kathrin Elsner and Torsten Wink took over the hotel as a couple and and continue to run it as a family business – daughter Emily was born in 2005 – to this day. They succeeded in the balancing act of preserving the tradition of the house and combining it with modernity. Torsten Wink gradually renovated the hotel rooms and bathrooms with a lot of craftsmanship and according to his own designs. Five years ago, the last major renovation took place with the redesign of the breakfast room in Art Deco style. At that time, Torsten Wink used the carnival days for the renovations, unaware that shortly afterwards the hotel business in the Heinsberg district had to be discontinued due to the Corona pandemic, thus beginning a long difficult time. These and restrictions due to inner-city construction sites subsequently led to adjustments in hotel operations. "In the meantime, we have many guests from all over the world again. But also many regular guests, some even from the time of Elisabeth Breuer, who remain loyal to us," says Kathrin Elsner. "We are our guests  grateful from near and far that we can be here and continue the tradition," the hoteliers emphasize. The history of the Hotel Rheinischer Hof will thus be continued. Text: Eva Weingärtner