Page 3 - Hotel Tunnel's 100 Years of History

Foreword
This book celebrates an important part of the history of Malmö. The building that is now Mayfair Tunneln Rotel started life as one of the grandest mansions in the town back in 1307. Over the years, it served as everything from the King’s residence to the town library, and parts of it were rented out as a soup kitchen for the less fortunate people of the town. It has served Malmö faithfully for over 700 years and has a history no other hotel in the town can match.
But no one could put together the various phases of its history - the details of its story seemed lost. Until, quite by chance, I stumbled across a book called ”Malmö 600 års historia,” where Tunneln’s first 600 years are described in detail by A. U. Isberg Sr and Jr. The book was clearly very rare, so I bought all the remaining copies I could find. Then
the fäet that it was so completely unknown began to trouble me. Could it not be reprinted for a new audience? And, without editing or altering the text, could it be extended a little? So we have added in some items relating to the hotel but which date from after the book’s publication, and in this way, the following pages are a faithful copy of the original but updated with various pictures and new articles that I have collected over the years.
And in the process of collecting the material, I wondered how many of the changes in the building’s history were the result of sober and serious deliberation and how many came about almost by chance. As was my involvement in this present, but certainly not last, phase of its history. So I beg indulgence to recount how I came into the picture.
For me, it all started in Italy, on a warm summer aftemoon in July 2001. I was sitting in a local restaurant just outside Siena enjoying my lunch and a wonderful creamy cappuccino, and going over the latest sales figures (real-estate) - which were not looking too good: sales were down, and our last project had just been canceled. And then - as if some minor deity was looking after me and had got his timing just right - my phone rang. It was my father. He had held a presentation in the local Rotary club, and among the participants was Marianne Laiderz, my old boss from my time at The Mayfair Hotel Copenhagen. She wanted to know what I was up to. Why? Well, she had just found a gem of a hotel in Malmö, Sweden, and she needed an assistant manager.
Hmmm, Malmö Sweden??? Who would want to live there? I was sure that Malmö was one of those towns people were trying to move away from, and not into.
But while all this was running through my mind, the waitress showed up with the lunch . bill. I glanced at it and then checked my wallet, calculated how much - or how little - I had in my bank account - and I realized there and then that Malmö must be the town of opportunity and happiness ...
Then fast forward: Marianne is taking me and two other hopefuls from Copenhagen to Malmö, and this being strictly pre-bridge days, we are on the ferry - a ferry out of Hell, back then also known as Pilen. Half the passengers were either unruly kids or semi- intoxicated adults.