Adlon, Lorenz

RESTAURATEUR (GERMANY)
BORN 29 May 1849, Mainz, Rheinland-Pfalz - DIED 7 Apr 1921, Berlin
CAUSE OF DEATH traffic accident
GRAVE LOCATION Berlin: Alter Domfriedhof der St.-Hedwigs-Gemeinde, Liesenstrasse 8 (WG Feld Mauer 2)

Lorenz Adlon was the sixth child of the shoemaker Jacob Adlon. He was trained as a cabinet maker before he served in the Franco-Prussian War. Following his interest in gastronomy, he became an inkeeper after the war. He worked in Mainz before he came to Berlin. He had married Susanne Wannsiedel, the daughter of a hotel manager in Mainz. They had five children before she died in 1878. His second wife was Fanny Claus (1851-1893).

In Berlin he bought several restaurants and after he took over Restaurant Hiller at Unter der Linden 55 he made it into the most exclusive restaurant of Berlin. In 1889 he bought his first hotel, and the Mille Colonnes in the centre of Amsterdam. In 1899 he leased the terraces of the Zoo of Mainz.

Om 23 October 1907 his Hotel Adlon near the Brandenburg Gate was opened by emperor Wilhelm II. Since he hotel was more luxurous than his own residence he became a frequent visitor himself. Aristocrats and other notable visitors from all over Europe came to the hotel, making it a centre of social life. After the First World War the monarchy was gone and the hotel became less prominent. In 1921 he died after he was hit by a car on the street near Hotel Adlon.

Family
• Son: Adlon, Louis

Images

The grave of Lorenz Adlon at the St. Hedwig-Friedhof I, Berlin.
Picture by androom (27 Mar 2007)

 

Sources
         Das Lexikon je Verwaltungsbezirk von Berlin – die drei ersten Bände im Netz                     
Lorenz Adlon – Wikipedia


Adlon, Louis

Published: 20 Jul 2019
Last update: 27 Jan 2022