Like a scarlet thread, the themes of literature, architecture and, repeatedly, music run through the history of the building.
Musicians of all periods and all different styles have found inspiration here, and indeed often a suitable framework within which to present their latest compositions to the public. From Mozart to the present day, there has been a succession of musicians who have spent time here, sometimes to make music, sometimes to compose or to relax. Works by Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Lanner, to name but a few, have been presented to the music loving Viennese public by the masters themselves. Franz Lehár was a close friend of the hotel, and in 1930 handed over to the owners of the Ambassador some autographs, all of which can still be admired in the hotel today.
But the special character of this place is not reserved for musicians alone. Writers, actors, dancers, politicians, members of the higher aristocracy, businessmen and industrialists continue to be inspired by this place as they always have been, finding here the rest and peace that they need.
The little secrets of these outstanding people – what we call the "guest histories" – are still kept like a valuable horde of treasure in a filing box in the management office.
Here is a brief extract from our guest list:
Theodore Roosevelt
Henry Ford III
Charles A. Lindbergh
Mark Twain
Thornton Wilder
H. C. Artmann
Marlene Dietrich
Romy Schneider
Josephine Baker
Maria Jeritza Seery
Martha Eggerth
Svatoslav Richter
Jan Kiepura
Franz Lehár
Robert Schumann
Louis Trenker
S.E. J. Nehru
S.M. Kaiser Haile Selassie
Prinz Xavier de Bourbon de Parma
Infantin Isabel de Espana
Prinz Sihanouk von Cambodja
Wilhelm Erbprinz von Hohenzollern
Prinzessin Helena von Griechenland und Großfürstin von Russland
Prinzessin Marie von Rumänien, Großbritannien und Irland
A-1010 Wien Kärntner Straße 22 / Neuer Markt 5 Tel: +43-1/961 61-0 Fax: +43-1/513 29 99 eMail: office@ambassador.at