The history of the ARCOTEL Moser Verdino - part 2

As already mentioned in the first part of this blog, Georg Struggl's son Martin married Maria Josefa, the daughter of an iron ore mine and nail forge operator, in 1723. In this part of the story, you will find out whether their relationship persisted over the years and how the Moser family came into play.

Fate had it hat Maria Josefa lost her husband quite ealry into their marriage which forced her to run the business all on her own. When a second big fire hit Klagenfurt, large parts of the city including the hotel were severely damaged. The neighbou's son, Josef Moser helped Maria Josefa with the comprehensive reconstruction works, during which they fell in love with each other. After only a short while, Maria Josefa got pregnant with the first of their altogether eight children. They spent a wonderful 18 years together but then Josef Moser died and Maria Josefa was once again left to fight for herself. Unwilling to give in to her fate, she held her ground and invested all her strength into the family business and the upbringing of her children. Over the years, Maria Josefa became a much loved and respected landlady thus laying the foundations for the hotel's excellent reputation.

The Moser family

Maria Josefa's grandson, Johann Nepomuk Moser supported his family as best as he could. Being a passionate host, he was widely known for his excellent social skills, his determination, reliability and kindness. Married to Katharina, the beautiful daughter of Klagenfurt's town magistrate Jesse, Johann Nepomuk lived a long and fulfilled life. At the age of 78, he retired and handed over the business to his children.


His youngest son viktor took much after his father. He renovated the hotel in 1860 by enlarging it and tiling the roof with red brick tiles, which were rather rare in Klagenfurt at the time. Having lost her husband early into their marriage, Viktor Moser's daughter-in-law Henriette took up the challenge and ran the by then well-established Moser Hotel on her own. However, when Viktor also died on 29 January 1897, she sold the hotel for 75,000 gulden to Julius Verdino.

This was the family history of the Mosers! Look out for our next blog entry, in which we will tell you more about the Verdinos and the subsequent history of the ARCOTEL Moser Verdino.

It’s not only the steadily increasing temperatures which promise a pleasant March. We’ve summarised our highlights for the month and hope you’ll enjoy them!

In March a constant stream of stars will again be performing at Hamburg’s O2 World. This month will see Udo Lindenberg, Dieter Nuhr, Scooter, Roger Cicero & Band, Atze Schröder and the crazy Hamburg Hip Hop and Electro band Deichkind making the hall rock. The St. Pauli theatre, the city’s oldest private theatre and one of Germany’s oldest theatres, will be staging the Pulitzer Prize winning play Death of a Salesman. The premiere of the major classic Sonny Boy is on 31st March and tells the tale of the comic duo Willie and Al.

The International Week Against Racism runs from 16th to 24th March, setting a clear sign against intolerance and xenophobia thanks to the active support of many well-known figures during concerts, readings and workshops.

Another event not to be missed is the three-way “battle of the arts” at the Schauspielhaus on 25th March, where the two Slam giants Julius Fischer and Sebastian 23 will face off against each other in the disciplines text, film and song. Equally to be recommended is a visit to this year’s spring fair at the Hamburger Dom which opens its gates to visitors on 23rd March.

The history of the ARCOTEL Moser Verdino in three instalments

The following three blog entries will present the fascinating history of the ARCOTEL Moser Verdino Klagenfurt, which is steeped in the historical developments of the city. But read up for yourself!

The history of the ARCOTEL Moser Verdino started out with a small gate in the city walls of Klagenfurt called "Schlupf". This gate enabled easy access to the city since contrary to the other city gates its key was in private hands. For this reason, the door could be opened at will whenever the need arose.

In 1514, a great fire ravaged large parts of Klagenfurt. During the reconstruction works, a small house was built on the site of the "Schlupf", whose owners readily took up and cherished the special atmosphere of the place.

All the people who have worked in this building ever since have offered some sort of shelter by providing board and lodging. In 1680, the Klagenfurt merchant Georg Struggl and his wife Elisabeth bought the building and turned it into a hotel. Later on, their son Martin fell in love at first sight with the adorable daughter of an iron ore mine operator, Maria Josefa, who he married in 1723.

In part two of the story, you will find out whether their relationship persisted over the years.

Celebrate your wedding according to the motto "As I like it"

The best day of life requires an exceptional ambience!

Celebrate your dream wedding in an exclusive ambience and turn the most important day of your life into an unforgettable experience! Our staff is happy to assist you in all the preparations so as to enable you to fully enjoy the occasion as well as the run-up to it.

We have put together a special wedding package for you taking into account all the key aspects such as room, decoration, food and beverages. Our kitchen team is also happy to provide a delicious wedding cake for your special day. In addition, our fully air-conditioned banqueting area is perfectly suited for wedding receptions and can accommodate up to 250 guests. A particular highlight of this venue is the huge glass front with a view of the extensive parks and the Kaiserwasser side arm of the River Danube. Particularly in summer our terrace provides the ideal backdrop for unique wedding pictures. When the most exciting celebration then draws to an end, you have still got the chance to prolong the experience by spending the night in one of our romantic suites. And what could be a better start into your nuptial bliss than a champgane breakfsast in bed.

Further information on the most beautiful day of your life:

Our banqueting team is happy to assist you with any queries or show you around our banqueting facilities.

If you have specific questions or require more information regarding to above package, the set meal or the buffet, please do not hesitate to contact us at:




Banqueting team - ARCOTEL Kaiserwasser Vienna
Wagramerstrasse 8
1210 Vienna
T +43 1 224 24-806 or +43 224 24-703
F +43 1 224 24-710
E-Mail bankett.kaiserwasser@arcotelhotels.com

The famous chocolate fondant is back

After few years of absence it's back! The famous chocolate fondant, for which the restaurant was formerly known, is back.

The chocolate fondant will be also on the new menu of the restaurant Radicchio, which is presenter four times a year! The promotion and the comeback took place on the main square in Zagreb at the "Chocolate Festival", where our chef Danijel Bibic presented the preparation. Infront of the audience Danijel made 18 fondants and answered questions on it, what to consider when making the fondant. Danijel took the opportunity and presented by the way the offer of the restaurant and the ARCOTEL Allegra itself in a fun and entertaining way. Through humorous comments, he has managed to create a cheerful mood.
That was the first "Chocolate Fest", which was organized in Zagreb, but since the feedback is so good, the organizers consider similar events for the future to promote Croatian cuisine.

Enjoy a special evening!

The ARCOTEL John F is pleased about the new cooperation with the Konzerthaus Berlin.

The Konzerthaus Berlin, built by Karl Friedrich Schinkel, 1818 - 1821 at the venerable Gendarmenmarkt is one of the masterpieces of classical architecture.
Here Weber experienced "Freischütz" its legendary premiere, here are the concerts of Paganini and Liszt's rousing, here conducted Wagner's "Fliegender Holländer" and Beethoven's 9th Symphony had its premiere in Berlin.

After its destruction in the second World War the building was reopened as a concert hall on 1rst of October 1984. In the four venues Great Hall, Small Hall, Werner Otto Hall and Music Club 550 events a year take place. With around 100 concerts per season, the Konzerthaus Orchestra Berlin (formerly Berlin Symphony Orchestra) as a significant part of the house orchestra profile of the concert hall.

With our concert menu you will not only for your ears have a unique experience. You will also be culinary pampered to go to the concert with a great joy. Only a short walk distance from the Konzerthaus Berlin, you can enjoy, on presentation of concert ticket, in the restaurant FOREIGN AFFAIRS, in the ARCOTEL John F , a 2 - or 3-course dinner for EUR 16.00 to 19.00 including one drink.
For more information or reservations please contact directly the restaurant FOREIGN AFFAIRS.

We look forward to your visit!

Do not miss the exhibition from Mark Laita !

The Arcotel Velvet recommends the exhibition of the American photographer Mark Laita in the gallery CAMERA WORK in Kantstrasse.

Laita Mark was born in 1960 in Detroit and grew up in Chicago. Here he studied photography. After graduating he moved to Los Angeles and worked as a commercial photographer for Mercedes-Benz, VISA and addidas.
He also was responsible for ten years for the promotional shots for Apple.

The CAMERA WORK AG owns one of the world's largest photo book and photo collections. The vintage collection includes works by renowned photographers like Diane Arbus, Man Ray, Robert Frank, Louis Faurer, Paul beach, Richard Avedon, Dorothea Lange, Irving Penn, Helmut Newton and Peter Lindbergh. The internationally renowned gallery CAMERA WORK will present fascinating exhibitions regularly by icons of photographic history to contemporary photographers. From the 10th of February opens the CWC GALLERY, a branch of CAMERA WORK in Berlin, in the former Jewish girls' school in the Auguststraße11-13 in Berlin Mitte.

The exhibition of Mark Laita in the gallery CAMERA WORK will start on 4th of February 2012 and shows until 10th of March 2012 for the first time in Europe, the three new series "Sea," "Serpentine" and "Amaranthine" with unique photographs of the most fascinating creatures of the sea, the most impressive snakes and the most colorful and graceful birds in the world. All three series combines the special representation of animals as a still life as well as the recurring form of language.

»Sea«
The after more than ten years in 2010 completed series "Sea" is already one of the most popular photo series in the genre of nature photography.
Mark Laita succeeds in his photographs to depict the exotic creatures of the oceans as an artistic and aesthetic still life. He uses a complicated picture installation to photograph the animals by taking them in the foreground to get their special shape, colors and depict their peculiarities of character.

»Serpentine«
More than 100 of the most dangerous snakes in the world - from the milk snake, coral snake and Texas Rattlesnake to the Black Cobra - Mark Laita photographed them for his series "Serpentine" (Lat. serpens: Snake).
After seeing the pictures people are fascinated by the symbolism and mythology of snakes and also of the menacing aura of grace and elegance.

»Amaranthine«
For the series "Amaranthine" (Greek Amarantos: not passing) Mark Laita has portrayed over 100 of the rarest and most beautiful birds in the world. Unlike the other two series, but the birds are no longer alive, but were preserved for eternity, and exhibited in museums of natural history. Particularly clear here, the awareness of the ambivalence between death and eternal beauty can be experienced.