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26-643: In 1903 Franz Josef Bucher , a farmer's son, who by this time had become well established as a hotel pioneer-entrepreneur, purchased a 3,285 square metre plot of land at one end of the "National Quai" ( "Nationalquai" ) in Lucerne for a price of 880,000 Swiss francs. The price equated to 270 Swiss Francs square metre which at that time was "sensationally" expensive for a 3,000 square metre building plot. Construction began in July 1904, to designs by architect Heinrich Meili-Wapf, and less than two years later, on 7 May 1906,

52-467: A further 1,000 Egyptians: Bucher himself died shortly before the Semiramis opened in 1906. Sources differ as to whether by his two marriages, Bucher had 14 or 15 recorded children. Six of his sons took leading positions in his hotels business and which also employed his sons-in-law and many remoter kinsfolk. Following his death, his sons Fritz and Arnold took over leadership of the business. It

78-592: A member of the Cantonal Council of Obwalden . He was an energetic entrepreneur who attracted anecdotes reflecting his original and direct approach. Bucher was born in Kerns , Obwalden , a small town roughly 22 km (15 miles) south of Lucerne . His father, Sébastien Bucher, was a farmer and local councilor. The boy attended the school in Kerns and then went on to college in the cantonal capital, Sarnen ,

104-468: A short distance further up the valley to the south. After some years working as a herdsman and farmer he teamed up with Joseph Durrer, his future brother in law to form, in 1864, the business "Bucher & Durrer". In 1868, the two of them opened a factory on the edge of Sarnen, at Kägiswil , where they constructed timber flooring, soon moving on to become constructors of timber barns and houses. In 1869/70, "Bucher & Durrer" built their first hotel,

130-561: Is the legislature of the canton of Obwalden , in Switzerland . Obwalden has a unicameral legislature. The Cantonal Council has 55 seats, with members elected every four years. In the last election , on 7 March 2010, saw the center maintain its dominance of the Cantonal Council. The Christian Democrats lost three seats, but remained the largest party with 20. The Swiss People's Party gained five seats to become

156-479: The Palace Hotel Luzern opened. The hotel cost a "sensational" four million Swiss francs. All the south-facing rooms with a lake view, as well as all the east-facing rooms, came with an en suite bathroom, which was considered the height of luxury. The Palace Hotel Luzern was also unusually large, with a total of 120 private bathrooms shared between 350 beds. That made it substantially larger than

182-568: The Victoria-Jungfrau Grand Hotel & Spa in Interlaken . By this time the two five star hotels had already been collaborating closely for some years and the take-over was reportedly a "friendly" one. In 2011, following the currency realignments triggered by the world economic crisis of 2007/09 , Swiss hotels came under financial pressure, in common with other export dependent labour-intensive sectors, and in 2011

208-559: The funicular at the Mura delle Chiappe (1896) and an electric tramline, necessary to provide adequate access to his newly purchased hotel in the city. On its completion, he sold the tramline to the municipality for one million Swiss francs, which he insisted on receiving in cash. This he placed in a large linen sack which he took back to Kerns , proudly showing fellow villagers his first million and buying drinks for many. He also had himself photographed in his garden at home, accompanied by

234-579: The pithy dialect of his home canton . Despite the importance within his hotels empire of Ticino , Rome and Genoa , it was said that the only word of Italian that he uttered with any frequency was "Avanti!". Josef Bucher was a local councillor in Kerns, also serving, between 1884 and 1896, on the Cantonal Council . He was an instigator, co-founder and board member of the Cantonal Bank . Cantonal Council of Obwalden The Cantonal Council of Obwalden ( German : Obwalden Kantonsrat )

260-557: The "Sonnenberg-Hotel" in Engelberg . They sold it at a profit after a year. In 1871, Bucher purchased the lakeside "Trittalp" meadow located on a ridge on the Bürgenstock (mountain). Here he built the 220 bed "Grand Hotel Kurhaus", subsequently renamed "Grand Hotel Bürgenstock", which opened in 1873. Bucher oversaw the construction himself. The luxury hotel was a success, which led to expansion. Between 1887 and 1905,

286-431: The 1880s, the business activities of Bucher and his partner Joseph Durrer diverged, with Durrer focusing on timber based building and construction, while Bucher concentrated on the hotel business. However, it was only in 1895 that the business of "Bucher & Durrer" was formally split. Bucher's portion of the business was renamed "Schweizerische Hotelgesellschaft", which by the start of the twentieth century had become

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312-536: The 1970s the hotel has undergone a succession of changes and upgrades, and adapted for year-round operation. During the winter of 1993/94 the top two floors were rebuilt at a cost of 15 Million Swiss francs, yielding an additional 48 rooms and suites. In October 1997 the Palace Hotel Luzern, by now under the control of General Director Jürg Reinshagen and his brother Ernst was taken over by the hotel specialists Victoria-Jungfrau Collection AG , owners of

338-649: The Bürgenstock Hotel grew into a substantial hotel resort-complex. To improve access to the inherently inaccessible mountaintop hotel, a funicular railway , claimed to be the first electric railway in Switzerland, was opened in 1888. After early technical challenges had been overcome, the funicular became a highly effective tourist magnet. The Bürgenstock also featured electric lighting and electric elevators many years before these features became mainstream, and long before public power supplies became

364-473: The Hotel Quirinal. This was not the only time that Josef Bucher drew attention with his unconventional business methods. Despite commercial success, Josef Bucher always retained an underlying humility. He never ate with the guests in his hotel dining rooms, but insisted on eating with the hotel personnel. Various legends circulate in this connection. On one occasion he noticed that only one of

390-572: The Palace Hotel Luzern was the only significant hotel still held in Franz Josef Bucher 's once extensive "Schweizerische Hotelgesellschaft AG" hotels portfolio. During the Second World War the hotel became a medical centre: it was also used as a storage location for essential basic supplies. After a two-year renovation programme costing 1.5 Million Swiss francs the hotel reopened in 1946, returned to its former luxury. Since

416-600: The Palace Luzern the city's number one hotel came with a considerable additional cost, which he may not have anticipated, in the form of the envy of Lucerne's existing top hoteliers. Wealthy tourists staying in Luzern as part of a tour would frequently ask the reception staff to book their next hotels, and the competitor hoteliers in Luzern reacted with an effective bookings boycott of Bucher's other hotels in destinations such as Lugano , Milan , Genoa and Rome . After

442-698: The braking system ( Zangenbremsen ). Further railways constructed by the firm included the Monte San Salvatore funicular opened on the edge of Lugano in 1890, the short but steep funicular in Lugano linking the city to its mainline station (1886), the Reichenbach Falls funicular (1899) and the Vevey–Chardonne–Mont-Pèlerin funicular (1900). Bucher's railway building was not restricted to Switzerland. In Genoa he built

468-491: The cash, his wife, and two of their children, using a new medium to provide visual evidence of his enhanced credit-worthiness. Asked why he had nevertheless, as usual, traveled home in a third class railway carriage, he is said to have explained that the Gotthard Railway did not offer a fourth class. Having celebrated his triumph with his neighbours he set off with his bag of cash for Rome, where he used it to buy

494-474: The city's existing grand hotels: The National had 79 private bathrooms shared between 450 beds, while the Schweizerhof made do with only 70 private bathrooms shared between 400 beds. The Palace Hotel Luzern was considered one of the most elegant hotels in the world. Bookings during the first summer season were strong, apparently justifying the massive investment. However, Bucher's determination to make

520-672: The largest hotels undertaking in the world, as Franz Josef Bucher, supported by his growing family, constructed a succession of luxury hotels in and beyond Europe. Particularly high profile creations included the Hotel Quirinal in Rome and the Hotel Palace Luzern . The last hotel he created was the Hotel Semiramis in Cairo , where it is reported that he simultaneously employed 300 European construction workers together with

546-419: The norm. Bucher built a hydro-electric generating plant, which came into operation in 1886/87, for the growing complex. An additional use for the power supply came with the construction in 1905 of the remarkable Hammetschwand Lift / Elevator , an outdoor device that carries visitors up a vertical distance of more than 100 meters on order to access a look-out position with views across Lake Lucerne . During

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572-603: The outbreak of the First World War the hotel had to be closed, but business resumed following the signing of the Treaty of Versailles , and business boomed through most of the 1920s. At the end of the decade bookings nevertheless dropped off in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash , and debt financing accordingly became more burdensome for the business. By the time the Second World War broke out in 1939

598-571: The owners sold the Hotel Palace Luzern building to "CS Funds AG", an investment fund belonging to Credit Suisse , in a " sale and leaseback " deal. In October 2015 it became known that the bank was looking to sell the building. The hotel closed for renovations in 2019 and reopened as Mandarin Oriental Palace, Luzern on September 24, 2022. Franz Josef Bucher Franz Josef Bucher (17 January 1834 – 6 October 1906)

624-427: The tables in the staff canteen had a tablecloth on it. He was given to understand that the table with the cloth on it was set aside for senior staff, whereupon he seized one end and pulled the cloth, together with the contents of the table, onto the floor. Although he did business in many countries across two continents, Josef Bucher never bothered to master foreign languages. Instructions were habitually delivered in

650-409: Was Swiss business magnate, politician and patron who built his wealth in hotels and railroads. Bucher established the Bürgenstock hotel complex and was the owner and patron of Europe's largest hotel company in the 19th century. At the time of his death, his net worth was estimated at 14 million Swiss Francs (equal to about 160 million Swiss Francs in 2023). Between 1886 and 1896, Bucher served as

676-531: Was on Bucher's personal initiative that "Bucher & Durrer" constructed the Stansstad–Stans electric tramline , connecting the paddle-steamer quay at the southwestern end of Lake Lucerne with the base station for the Stanserhorn funicular railway , which was also constructed by Bucher's firm. The railway opened in 1893 and attracted much interest due to its technical innovations, notably in respect of

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