New Beginning for a “Courageous Knight”

Bad Kösen is not only well-known as a health resort and saltwater spa. The town in the Burgenlandkreis district of Saxony-Anhalt is also closely associated with the name Käthe Kruse. Not only was the Käthe Kruse doll factory located here, but today the Bad Kösen “Cuddly Toy World” is also available here today. The Hotel “Mutiger Ritter” (Courageous Knight) is almost as well-known as the popular dolls. The historic hotel facility consists of eight building sections and the history of the establishment is just as multifaceted. The first hotel was established in 1680 as an inn for the Landesschule Pforta boarding school, the school of Nietzsche, Fichte and Klopstock. The hotel area in its current form was created in 1922. The establishment was lastly managed as a bed and breakfast hotel with 36 rooms and closed in 2004. Now another courageous knight is being sought, to transform the history-steeped establishment into a cosy “dollhouse” once again.

This is not an impossible task, because the owner of the property is also the owner of the Bad Kösen doll factory. So why not combine everything under one roof and invite guests to enjoy a holiday at “Mutiger Ritter” in the doll factory? There can hardly be more opportunities for discovery for families with children than to stroll in the footsteps of Käthe Kruse!

That is why the hotel development experts at AB Raymann GmbH (Berlin), who have compiled a feasibility study on behalf of the Investment and Marketing Corporation Saxony-Anhalt (IMG), have come up with a 3-star standard family-friendly hotel concept. And: the hotel is so well-preserved that it will be possible to reopen without any great financial expenditure.

The historic entrance area, the wonderful Neo Baroque dining and ceremonial hall and the “sheep stable” are counted among the places of interest in Bad Kösen, since the Hotel “Mutiger Ritter” (3,500 square metres) is the city’s oldest hotel and lies in the city centre.

The plot is 7,500 square metres overall. The Romanesque house that is found on the premises, the stable with the Käthe Kruse doll exhibition, the gallery, the “waterwheel island” and the library in timber-framed architecture do not belong to the hotel. They are used and operated by the borough.

A collective marketing concept comprised of owner, hotel operator, borough and local tourism association is suggested, since the Käthe Kruse dolls are the emblem of Bad Kösen.

Bad Kösen, which today belongs to Naumburg as a district in the Burgenlandkreis district, is part of the Romanesque Road and offers a versatile range of excursions. The proximity to Naumburg, the castle ruins at Saaleck and Rudelsburg are just a few excursion destinations recommended as day excursions.

The spa town is centrally located. The city is also accessible via the A 9 motorway junction at Osterfeld as well as via an intersection of three federal highways. Federal highway B 87 leads from Weimar’s Old Town to Leipzig, the B 88 to Jena and the B 180 leads from Querfurt to Zeitz. The Berlin-Schönefeld International Airport can be reached in 130 minutes; Leipzig-Halle Airport in about one hour. Guests reach idyllic Bad Kösen by rail using the regional railway via Jena.

 

Contact:

Investitions- und Marketinggesellschaft Sachsen-Anhalt mbH

Am Alten Theater 6

D - 39104 Magdeburg

Phone: +49 (0)391 5677076