The elite hotel of Chisinau – hotel „Suisse”

ELEGANCE // With a history of over 100 years, it is one of the oldest and most modern hotels in Chisinau. If in the past it had 46 rooms open, today the luxury hotel „Suisse” has only five apartments.

Located in the heart of Chisinau, the former „Suisse” hotel hosted famous personalities of the highest class, such as the King of Serbia Milan I, the Minister of Public Instruction of Russia, the school founder and Minister of Education in Tsarist Russia, the Bessarabian Leon Casso, the writers Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu, Constantin Stere, the historian Nicolae Iorga, Hristo Botev, Mihail Sadoveanu, Octavian Goga and the French prose writer Henri Barbusse. Also here, Maria Cebotari was invited to sing and, many times, the artist „preferred to dine there”. From 1950 until today, the building houses the Public Library „B.P. Hasdeu”, „Suisse Guest House” and some private apartments.

„Suisse”, yesterday and today If in the past the building had a total of 46 rooms, some of which were rented, today, „Suisse Guest House”, founded by a Spanish citizen, is located on the 2nd floor of the former building of the hotel „Suisse”. The hotel consists of five apartments, arranged in several styles, such as Spanish, Parisian, African or Indian. In 1899, when the hotel was owned by the Armenian Nicolai Muracev, the building was renovated and modified according to the plan drawn up by the engineer Lavrentie Lozinski. The rooms were located upstairs, the ground floor was equipped with a restaurant and kitchen, stairs were built for the second floor, one festive in marble and another in cast iron. Also on the ground floor was a series of commercial spaces, Evsei Ștein's photo salon, Alexandr Wolkenberg's frame and paint shop, Sereus's barbershop and Bakinski's confectionery. Today, on the first floor, in the former restaurant of the hotel, is the Public Library „B.P. Hasdeu”, a name that bears him because, in the past, when the spaces were rented by the Boys' High School no. 1, here the great encyclopedist learned. The Hotel „Suisse” functioned until around World War II, and in 1946-1947 it was rebuilt from the ground up. In 1835, the hotel buildings were designed as houses for rent, built by the Monastârschi family. In the early 1920s. In the 19th century, several houses were known in Chisinau that offered such services: the house of the Gold family, the house of the Isaev family, the house of the Armenian Antonie, the house of the merchant Naumov, the women's pension of Miller and Etner. The hotel system in the region evolved with the adoption of the Regulation of May 14, 1821, on the activity of hotels, restaurants, cafes and inns. According to the Regulation, every applicant to open a hotel had the right to choose the place where it would be built.

For rent by the governor of Bessarabia History shows that the story of the building of the "Suisse" hotel begins in 1834, after the confirmation of the urban systematization plan of Chisinau. At that time, the land in the western part of the city was intended for construction. One of the owners of such land was Ivan Monastârschi, a clerk at the Spiritual Consistory of Bessarabia, who in 1835 initiated the construction of a two-storey building at the intersection of today's Ștefan cel Mare and Bănulescu-Bodoni streets. The house was designed on two levels, and the construction was carried out in two phases, between 1835-1844. Among the tenants was the governor of Bessarabia, Pavel Fedorov. In this building was also the Government Treasury. Between 1846 and 1862, part of the building was leased by the Boys' Gymnasium and the boarding house for the children of the Bessarabian nobility. During this period, several prominent personalities studied here, such as Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu, Zamfir Arbore, the architect P. Gasket, the director of the Royal School N. Codreanu, the mayor Karl Schmidt and others. During this period, several prominent personalities studied here, such as Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu, Zamfir Arbore, the architect P. Gasket, the director of the Royal School N. Codreanu, the mayor Karl Schmidt and others. On March 29, 1865, the Diocese of Chisinau purchased the space, previously rented for the Theological Seminary, for 3,700 rubles, and since 1866 the headquarters belongs entirely to the institution. Because the space was inadequate for studies, it was decided to offer it for rent, and with the rent money and the credit granted by the Diocesan Congress to build a new building for the Seminary.

The hotel of a Swiss and an Armenian Over the years, the hotel building has had various tenants. Among the first was the Swiss Charles Thomas Selouidenis, who leased the space for 12 years, from July 15, 1874. After a complex restoration, the hotel building begins its activity under the name of the hotel "Suisse", the name of Switzerland in French. It is said that the owner had roots in France. After the Swiss's contract expired, the building/hotel was rented by the merchant Dumitru Babiev, for ten years. Due to illness, he managed the hotel until 1892, later the owner became his daughter, Elena Dobronravova. In 1894, the new owner of the hotel became the Armenian Nicolai Muracev, who leased the building for ten years, from July 15, 1897. According to the contract, the new owner had to pay a sum of 6 thousand rubles, rent for the first two years, and the next years – 7,000 rubles each. In total, for the renovation works, the Armenian invested about 19 thousand rubles. After Nicolai Muracev's lease expired, the hotel building was handed over to a clergyman.

Goalkeeper - Polish, housekeeper - Moldovan Historical documents show that Nicolae Iorga wrote fondly about the „Suisse” hotel and talked about the goalkeeper who was allegedly Polish, and the housekeeper – a Moldovan woman near Chisinau. The library staff told us that the interior decorations have been preserved even today, and the room of the hotel's former restaurant has not been changed. The restaurant had white walls and large blue curtains. The official page of the library is hasdeu.md. Here you will find all the activities and services of the library.