Bunker St. Pauli

RIMC Hotels & Resorts Group from Hamburg becomes new hotel operator

The Hamburg-based RIMC Hotel & Resorts Group has won the tender for the operation of a hotel and catering space in the St. Pauli bunker extension. The contract has now been signed between RIMC and the landlord EHP Erste Hamburger Projektmanagement GmbH and the developer Matzen Immobilien KG.

With currently more than 30 hotels in 8 countries and more than 2,000 employees, the RIMC Hotels & Resorts Group is one of the leading hotel companies in Europe. As a "white label" the company operates hotels with international and own hotel brands and is specialized in individual and customized hotel concepts. The hotel in the Bunker St. Pauli will contain 136 rooms as well as various gastronomic outlets. The RIMC concept is particularly convincing due to the perfect integration of the hotel in the overall project of the bunker extension and in the city district. The future hotel brand will be announced soon. The brand character fits homogeneously into the overall idea of the cultural and creative community place.

The realization of the "green bunker St. Pauli", which is privately financed by the developer Matzen Immobilien KG, is considered a prime example of successful citizen participation. In view of the current global shortage of building materials, completion is scheduled for the first half of 2022.
Since mid-2019, the impressive high-rise bunker in the heart of the Hanseatic city has been extended by five pyramid-like floors. In the process, the hotel and associated catering areas are part of the pioneering landscape architecture project.

The visual highlight is the spectacular roof garden, freely accessible to all, which is unique in Germany: with a fantastic panoramic view over Hamburg, in line of sight with the Elbphilharmonie, with a planted "mountain path" leading upwards around the outer facades. In addition to this new public natural oasis and a hall for sports and cultural events, the bunker will receive a memorial and information site for the victims of the Nazi regime and World War II for the first time. Moreover, rooms for district culture, exhibition spaces, accommodations for scholarship holders and artists are being created.

Paul Hahnert, EHP managing director and project manager: "After the cooperation with the original hotel partner ended in the Corona crisis there was a great deal of national and international interest very quickly. For us, it was essential that the new hotel operator fits authentically into the vibrant creative scene of the area. That is why we are very happy about the new partner from Hamburg. The RIMC Hotels & Resorts Group already knows the history of the bunker and its outstanding importance for the city very well due to the proximity. The customized concept for this distinctive location shows that RIMC is investing an enormous amount of heart and soul in this unique project."

About the bunker St. Pauli

Marek N. Riegger, CEO RIMC Hotels & Resorts Group: "A unique and striking building for Hamburg. As a company from Hamburg, we are very pleased to be a partner for this extraordinary project. We are aware of the responsibility for the location, the city and far beyond and will bring in all our experience to be a very good complement in the future operation of the hotel and the gastronomic facilities on the bunker. A challenge that we gladly accept. Soon we will announce more details about the conception."

Built in 1942 in just 300 days, also with the use of forced laborers, the high bunker on Feldstraße was intended as one of two so-called flak towers, primarily for anti-aircraft defense. During the Second World War, tens of thousands residents from Hamburg found shelter from Allied air raids. Since the post-war period, the bunker has been used for civilian purposes. The first "Tagesschau" was broadcast from here, publisher Axel Springer developed newspapers and the photographer F.C. Gundlach presented Andy Warhol's first german exhibition in the bunker. Since the early 1990s, the St. Pauli bunker has been home to numerous companies from the media, culture and creative industries. Near to the Reeperbahn, the Karoviertel and the Millerntor stadium of FC St. Pauli, they will continue to have their home even after the increase in height. For the realization of the project, the developer has involved a lot of other companies from Hamburg. In addition to the hotel operator RIMC, these include the landscape architecture firm L+, the von Ehren tree nursery, the landscape gardener Hildebrandt and many other trades and service companies. In total, around 180 people and 25 trades are working on the vision of the "green bunker". In view of the concept, the architecture critic Gerhard Matzig of the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" feels reminded of the "Hanging Gardens of Semiramis" and sees the project in the "round of spectacular green buildings" on a "top place among the worldwide attractions".

For more information on the history of the bunker, visit www.bunker-stpauli.de