The Hôtel des Alpes-Grand Hôtel or Résidence des Alpes is an assemblage of former

palace A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...

buildings in the village of

Territet Territet (Montreux) is a locality which is part of the Montreux commune, in the Vaud canton, Switzerland. Geography Territet is located between the city center of Montreux and the village of Veytaux, within the municipality of Montreux, o ...

, which is a part of

Montreux Montreux (, ; ; ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, Swiss municipality and List of towns in Switzerland, town on the shoreline of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Swiss Alps, Alps. It belongs to the Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut (district), Riviera-Pays ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

History

In March 1840, the town of Territet bought a parcel of land on which to build a hostel entitled Chasseur des Alpes. Over the following years this hostel was enlarged three times to become - in 1855 - the Hôtel des Alpes. The main building was designed by Henri Chessex, son of the owner and brother of Ami Chessex. The opening of the Hôtel led to a tourist boom and in 1861 a railway line was opened between Montreux and Villeneuve, calling at Territet. In 1875 a dining hall was added to the building and two years later Ami Chessex chose the architect Louis Maillard (later joined by

Eugène Jost Eugène Jost (18 September 1865 – 24 January 1946) was a Swiss architect of the Belle Époque. Life Eugène Jost was born on 18 September 1865 in Corsier-sur-Vevey. He initially studied at the industrial school in Corsier before moving to Pari ...

) to build the Grand Hôtel beside the Hôtel des Alpes. The decor was by

Marcel de Chollet Marcel de Chollet or Marcel Chollet (26 October 1855, Geneva – 30 July 1924, Geneva) was a French speaking Swiss painter of the Belle Époque. He is mainly known for his ceiling places in public buildings, hotels and casinos in Switzerland and ...

.. The two buildings were linked by a corridor and soon formed a single structure. It is classed as a cultural monument. Among the Hôtel's many notable guests were

Elisabeth of Bavaria Elisabeth (born Duchess Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie in Bavaria; 24 December 1837 – 10 September 1898), nicknamed Sisi or Sissi, was Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary from her marriage to Franz Joseph I of Austria on 24 April 1854 until h ...

, who visited four times, and

Francis Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

in 1893. The Hôtel built on this success, housing the first telephone in Switzerland. In 1971,

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...

temporarily converted one of its corridors to a live room in order to record ''

Machine Head A machine head (also referred to as a tuning machine, tuner, or gear head) is a geared apparatus for tuning stringed musical instruments by adjusting string tension. Machine heads are used on mandolins, guitars, double basses, and others, and ...

'' after a flare gun incident set their intended venue,

Montreux Casino Montreux Casino (Casino Barrière de Montreux) is a casino located in Montreux, Switzerland on the shoreline of Lake Geneva. It has served as the venue for the Montreux Jazz Festival and was rebuilt following a 1971 fire memorialized in the Deep P ...

, on fire, an incident that inspired their signature song, "

Smoke on the Water "Smoke on the Water" is a song by English rock band Deep Purple, released on their 1972 studio album '' Machine Head''. The song's lyrics are based on true events, chronicling the 1971 fire at Montreux Casino in Montreux, Switzerland. It is ...

", recorded for ''Machine Head''. In 1975 it closed and its main hall and dining hall were turned into a theatre, whilst the Grand Hôtel's bedrooms became the

National Swiss Audiovisual Museum National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

, though this closed in 2008 and left the premises in 2012 to allow for their renovation. The hotel suffered fires on 29 January 1984 and 28 September 2012.

Bibliography (in French)

* ''Grand Hôtel et Hôtel des Alpes Territet. Suisse'', 1900 * Gilbert de Montmollin, ''Le Grand-Hôtel et Hôtel des Alpes de Territet'', Audiorama Musée suisse de l'audio-visuel, 1994 * Dave Lüthi, ''Le Grand Hôtel et Hôtel des Alpes, Territet: rapport historique et architectural'', Service des monuments historiques, 1996 * Dave Lüthi, ''Le Grand-Hôtel et Hôtel des Alpes à Territet (1840-1975): Reflet du développement de Montreux au XIXe siècle : Historique et description'', Musée du Vieux-Montreux, 1998

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hotel des Alpes-Grand Hotel Buildings and structures in the canton of Vaud Cultural property of national significance in the canton of Vaud