600 years of history – and a story that has never been told before. Reading up on the history of BLUME., you’ll discover that, in decisive moments, it was often women who saved the establishment, held it together and carried it forward. A story that deserves to be told.
Josephine Borsinger-Herr
widowed, pregnant – and hotel manager
In 1853, Josephine Borsinger-Herr faced a situation that would have broken many others in her place: her husband had died, she was pregnant and was suddenly responsible for an entire hotel all by herself. Giving up? Not at BLUME. She took over the business and carried it on until she could hand it to the next generation. A woman who kept the hotel afloat in a man’s world – quite literally, in this spa town.
Mathilde Borsinger-Müller
38 years and a book for the ages
Her daughter-in-law Mathilde became the most defining figure of BLUME. In 1871 she married Franz Xaver Borsinger, and together they shaped die BLUME. in the heyday of the Belle Époque – with the famous Atrium, the Art Nouveau Hall, the Ladies’ Salon and the Schindler lift that was built in 1897/98.
Then, on 6 August 1897, fate struck: Franz Xaver left the office in the middle of a conversation and collapsed. A heart attack brought his life to an abrupt end. From one moment to the next, Mathilde was all alone – and took over the business from then on. For a total of 38 years, she remained the soul of BLUME.
Her greatest legacy, though, is her Sylvesterbuch: year after year, each New Year’s Eve, she recorded what the past year had brought. From the influenza pandemic of 1889, which ruined the hotel’s business, to the first Zeppelin in the sky over Baden in 1911, to the building of the new lift – the book is a unique historic testament. Thanks to Mathilde, we know today what life at BLUME. was like back in the day. Without her, a whole century would lie in the dark.
Heidi Erne
the woman who rebuilt it all
And this brings us to the most recent chapter of BLUME. In 1972, Heidi Erne and her husband Johann Rudolf acquired the hotel that had fallen into disrepair: a leaking glass roof, no heating on the fourth floor, only a handful of rooms with a bath. The trained hotelière rolled up her sleeves. On 1 April 1973, the couple reopened BLUME. – and from then on, it was renovated and renewed step by step.
When her husband died, Heidi Erne did not give up – just like Josephine and Mathilde before her. She remained owner and investor and ensured that BLUME. was expertly maintained over the decades. In 2002 she handed the management to her sons Silvio and Patrik, who now run BLUME. in the second generation. Without Heidi Erne, the hotel would not be where it is today.
A pattern unbroken until today
Josephine. Mathilde. Heidi. Three women, spread across a century and a half, connected by the same thing: they took on responsibility when no one else did, and they held the hotel together – especially when they were all alone. In an industry where women were rarely at the forefront for a long time, they shaped BLUME. like few others. They seldom stood in the spotlight, and yet BLUME. would not be what it is today if it hadn’t been for them. A hotel that thrives because women made it flourish, again and again.
© Sabrina Golob | sabrinagolob.ch | 2023
HOTEL Blume, Baden
