The Grand Hotel Stockholm Audio history
Chapter One: The Frenchman With a Plan 1874 – 1899 [Sound of a steamship arriving at harbour] On a cold November morning in 1852, a young Frenchman named Régis Cadier stepped off a boat onto the icy docks of Stockholm. He'd come from Saint Petersburg, where he'd been working as a chef — a job that ended, not entirely coincidentally, around the same time France and Russia went to war. Cadier had excellent timing. He'd trained in Paris at the famous Trois Frères Provençaux — Three Brothers from the Countryside — one of the great restaurants of 19th-century France. That training got him a job in the Swedish royal kitchens almost immediately. The Swedes, it turned out, appreciated a man who knew his sauces. By 1860, Cadier had money, ambition, and an eye on a piece of land on Blasieholmen Island — directly opposite the Royal Palace. He was going to build something comparable to the great continental hotels of Europe. Stockholm was growing. The world was arriving. Someone needed to give them somewhere to stay. Construction began in 1872. The Grand Hotel opened on 15 June 1874 — with 314 rooms, the city's first elevator, the city's first telegraph station, Stockholm's first electric lighting, and a porcelain collection from the royal manufacturer Rörstrand. The pastries came from Paris. This was not a modest enterprise. King Oscar II came the day before opening — just to check. He approved. Opera star Christina Nielsen and actress Sarah Bernhardt were among the first famous guests. Nielsen, in a moment of extraordinary generosity — and somewhat catastrophic misjudgement — gave a free performance from one of the hotel balconies. Seventy people were injured in the crush. Eighteen died. She contributed generously to the funeral costs. It remains one of the stranger chapters in the hotel's history
Opera star Christina Nielsen and actress Sarah Bernhardt were among the first famous guests. Nielsen, in a moment of extraordinary generosity — and somewhat catastrophic misjudgement — gave a free performance from one of the hotel balconies. Seventy people were injured in the crush. Eighteen died. She contributed generously to the funeral costs. It remains one of the stranger chapters in the hotel's history. Then there was Ulysses S. Grant — former US President, Civil War hero, currently on a world tour expecting a warmer reception than he was getting. He arrived at the Grand Hotel only to find Prince Napoleon — Napoleon III's son — already installed there. Napoleon checked out when Grant checked in. Two of the most powerful names in the Western world stayed in the same hotel and managed to never meet. The Grand Hotel: where history happens at careful distance. August Strindberg lived here for over a month while his work Poisoned was prosecuted for blasphemy. He presumably found the irony amusing. On 10 December 1901, the first Nobel Prize banquet was held here. Four laureates arrived by night train and were quietly installed in suites overlooking the water. Their presence was to remain confidential. Some secrets are harder to keep than others at the Grand Hotel.
