The history

As early as 1608, the “Golden Henne” was also responsible for hospitality, alongside a few other breweries.

Inns were often also lodging houses,

Historical exterior view

offered accommodation options. “The best house on the site,” as it was called for a long time, was the “Henne,” which was also praised in many Thuringian travelogues of that time. Representatives from better circles often stay here, such as Neidhardt von Gneisenau and the poet Willibald Alexis, to name just a few. There is also historical evidence of frequent stays by the Bach family, the Marlitt family and von Bechstein in the cozy taprooms of the “Golden Henne”. Political representatives also made a point of stopping off at the “Best House on the Square”.

In 1865, the virgin Christiane Frederike Köthe received a legacy of 10 thalers from Princess Caroline for 10 1/4 years of loyal service, which underlines the social importance of the house at this time. A guest from overseas was welcomed on Tuesday, March 4, 1879. Mr. Armin Tenner from Cincinnati gave a demonstration of an “Edison phonograph”, also called a “sound recorder”, in the stucco hall of the “Golden Henne”.

The “Golden Hen” also had significance for club life in the city of Arnstadt and the surrounding area. The poultry breeding association and bird protection association was founded on October 19, 1880 in the “Goldene Henne” inn. The agricultural association “Zur Goldenen Henne” was founded in 1872. The Association for Optional Cremation in Arnstadt was founded in 1897 by 37 people in protest that the long-time “Golden Hen” Mr. Oscar Maempel, who died on October 21, 1897, had ordered to be cremated in Gotha during his lifetime. This was the reason why the church refused to bless his body in the death house.

On Saturday, April 2, 1900, a lengthy discussion about the planned Gotha-Arnstadt railway took place in the “Goldene Henne” inn. The negotiations lasting several hours led to the decision to build a small railway because of the negative attitude of the Prussian Railway Minister. Two projects are to be developed, electric and steam operation. On June 22, 1918, a transport of around 500 wounded arrived in Arnstadt, which led to the “Golden Hen” under the direction of the medical councilor Dr. Toelle served as a hospital for a short time. The owner of the inn around 1823 was Commercial Councilor Maempel. It had previously been owned by the highly respected Maempel family for many years. The inn was probably the most important in the city, meeting all the demands of even the highest eminence. After Oskar Meampel's death around 1890, his widow continued to run the restaurant. On January 3, 1899, she handed the inn over to her son Paul Maempel.

The inn became the property of a stock corporation at the end of 1906. The tenant from January 1, 1907 was Paul Fröhlich (long-time head waiter in Erfurt's “Europäschen Hof”). The owner Edmund Böttner was drafted into military service during the First World War. He reopened his hotel on May 11, 1919. The later owner, Mr. Heyne, had the restaurant's rooms enlarged in 1921. The reopening took place on March 3, 1921.

The city of Arnstadt bought the “Goldene Henne” hotel at the beginning of October 1922. It was converted into a retirement home. Eight apartments were set up for older citizens. The first family moved in on April 26, 1923. An “emergency kitchen” that was also built opened on May 17, 1923. In the week from January 1st to January 31st, 1924, for example, 826 whole and 276 half portions were served for small pensioners, the unemployed and the urban poor. In the years that followed, particularly as a result of the Second World War, the “Golden Hen” served as a poorhouse and emergency accommodation. In 1946 over 120 people lived in the house. In the 1950s, the former structure of the house as a guest and lodging house began to be fundamentally changed in favor of apartments by adding walls and additional chimneys. The stucco hall, which also had massive walls and chimneys, also fell victim to this. The property retained its character as a home for socially disadvantaged families until the 1990s. In 1993, the house was put out to public tender by the city of Arnstadt and purchased by the Becker family. At this point, 13 families still lived in the house. Due to the social tenant structure over decades, the house was partially in a state ready for demolition at that time. Regardless of this, the building complex was dedicated as an individual monument due to its historical substance. Planning for the restoration of this historical building began in 1993 and implementation was completed in 2001. During this period, 6 years of litigation had to be carried out with tenants, culminating in the partial provision of replacement living space for 3 families in the so-called “Little Henne”. The official approvals and coordination took place over a period of 8 years, also due to the constant deterioration of the economic environment and thus the financing basis for the “Golden Henne” building area. During the renovation phase, around 110 tons of tenant waste and around 500 tons of pure building rubble had to be removed from the house. The total renovation effort amounted to 3 million German marks. On June 4, 2001 at Pentecost, gastronomy was resumed in its old splendor after over 80 years. Since then, the Becker family and all of the hotel's employees have tried to make their guests' stay as pleasant as possible, in keeping with the centuries-long tradition of this famous inn and lodging house.

The “Golden Hen” once again has its place in the cultural life of the beautiful old town of Arnstadt.

Tradition obliges!
Becker Arnstadt family, April 2002