The story of Hotel Randers 1.0.
1856 - 1927
Hotel Randers' history goes back to 1856. "New Guest House in Randers" was the headline in the newspapers when wine merchant Carl Georg Schmidt opened the city's new hotel Schmidts Hotel on July 22 of that year.
In 1862, the business was taken over by Johannes Martens, and the hotel became the Martens Hotel. In the same year, the railway came to the city, when the section between Aarhus and Randers opened as the first in Jutland. It was also during this period that Hans Christian Andersen visited the hotel. Martens ran the business for 30 years.
In 1892, hotel tenant Per Westergaard Mathisen bought the hotel, which was named Hotel Randers. In 1898, Mathisen carried out the first thorough renovation and expansion of the hotel. As an example, eight years before the municipal power plant was inaugurated, he installed electricity and central heating. At that time, there was nothing like it outside the capital.
In 1915, the hotel was handed over to his son Wilhelm Mathisen, who moved from Copenhagen to Randers with solid industry knowledge.
Schmidt's Hotel
Johannes Martens
Per Westergaard Mathisen
The story of Hotel Randers 2.0.
1927 - 2014
In the period 1927-1929, Wilhelm Mathisen carried out a major renovation of the hotel; telephones were installed in the rooms, central heating, a bathroom with hot water and a kitchen according to the latest technical principles. During the same period, the hotel received an omnibus, which was used to pick up hotel guests at the train station. Hotel Randers is now a state-of-the-art hotel in the Art Deco style.
In 1960, Mrs. Sonja Madsen leased Hotel Randers, where she spent her weekends. During the weekdays, she ran Hotel Imperial in Copenhagen, where she flew weekly from Tirstrup to Kastrup. For her many flights, she managed to get into the Guinness World Records. A few years later, she married Wilhelm Mathisen and bought ownership of Hotel Randers.
In the early 1960s, Sonja Mathisen had the idea for an underground parking facility, and the hotel's ideals of being one of Europe's most modern hotels persisted.
In 1973, Wilhelm Mathisen died, and Sonja Mathisen continued to run Hotel Randers.
Several prominent personalities have visited Hotel Randers over the years. Including the world-famous Danish entertainer Victor Borge, who often likes to visit Hotel Randers when he returns home to Denmark. "Thank you for another stay at the most wonderful hotel - I call it Hotel HC Randersen", writes Victor Borge in the guest book.
In 1998, Sven Nørskov Eskildsen joined as director, having first worked at the hotel in 1983 when he was an apprentice as a waiter.
Sonja Mathisen, who is popularly referred to as Mrs Mathisen, is still an enterprising woman who is a member of the hotel's board. She passed away in 2014 at Randers Monastery at the age of 89.
Mrs. Mathisen wants to preserve the future and independence of Hotel Randers, which is why she established the Sonja and Wilhelm Mathisen Foundation , which today owns the hotel.
Wilhelm Mathisen
Travel party
Victor Borge & Mrs. Mathisen
The story of Hotel Randers 3.0.
2015 - 2024
On June 4, 2015, at noon, CEO Sven Eskildsen is standing in the hotel's ballroom, talking to a producer about a festive event later in the day. At the same time, a fire breaks out in a linen room on the second floor, and the laughter is suddenly replaced by seriousness.
The fire department is called and guests and staff are evacuated immediately. There is no doubt: the ceiling is engulfed in flames, and the situation is far more serious than anyone had imagined.
The rooms have been damaged by either water or fire, and the hotel is now facing a major renovation over the next few years.
The renovation is being carried out in collaboration with Novel Cabinet Makers and Baumann Boe-Whitehorn. The latter is the Royal Building Inspector and has, among other things, renovated Frederik VIII's palace at Amalienborg. With this design collaboration, the many fine stories from the hotel's long history can still be traced in the details, while the overall interior exudes sophisticated aesthetics, exclusivity and relaxation. The hotel's reception and halls have also been renovated, including the Frandsen Hall, which was previously called the Gobelin Hall. The hall is now named after the Randrusian artist Erik A. Frandsen, who decorated the hall with nine built-in scagliola paintings.
Hotel Randers is today a modern hotel with respect for its historical setting. The fire gave rise to reflection: How do you create a modern hotel with respect for the place's long history? We try to remind ourselves of that every single day. That must be the sum of Hotel Randers .
Sven Eskildsen
Fire June 4, 2015
