Ambassador Hotel - Vienna

The Ambassador Hotel is located on Neuer Markt in Vienna, Austria.  It stands on the site of a former concert hall known as the Mehlgrube, built in 1697, which saw the likes of Beethoven and Mozart conducting performances.  From 1866 on the Mehlgrube changed direction from a venue to a hotel, known as the Hotel Munsch, which ran until 1897, when the building was demolished and the current Italian Renaissance style structure was erected.  In 1898 it opened as the Krantz-Ambassador.  One of the hotel's earliest guests was Mark Twain, who lived here from October, 1898, to May, 1899.  Having declared bankrupty in 1894, the author embarked on a European lecture tour to help recoup some of his lost fortune.  For the next several years he and his family traveled through Europe as he attended speaking engagements.  Their home for most of their time in Vienna was here at the Krantz.  In March of 1945 the hotel was hit by aerial bombs, which destroyed a large portion of its facade.  Reconstruction began immediately and was followed years later by further renovations in 2001 and 2011.  Since then the hotel has been known as the Ambassador, under which it still operates.  Through the years the hotel's guest list has included Charles Lindbergh, Thornton Wilder, Marlene Dietrich, Josephine Baker, Franz Lehar, Robert Schumann and Prime Minister Nehru.  There is a plaque on the building honoring Mark Twain and the time he spent here.   

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