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The Helmhaus lives from the personalities who carry it. This includes, first and foremost, our excellent team happy to fulfil your every wish. But it also includes our partners and neighbors: mostly independent businesses that, like us, work sustainably by sourcing locally and that are committed to high-quality standards. Friendliness, first-class cleanliness and personal service are self-evident in our house.
Let us spoil you with table service and enjoy our selected coffees and premium loose-leaf teas. Fresh fruits, local cheeses, bread from the bakeries of our neighborhood, and the legendary Bircher muesli ensure a healthy Swiss start to the day. We prepare egg dishes a la minute to your liking and are happy to cater to special dietary requirements (vegan, gluten-free). We source our food exclusively from local markets and suppliers. You will taste the difference!
The permanent guests of our boutique hotel in Zurich are the drawings and paintings of Swiss artist Gisèle Mengis. The artist grew up in the midst of a hotel and observed travelers from early childhood, often with her pencil. Their dreams, wishes and experiences have informed this subtle work and contribute to the personal atmosphere of our house.
The Hotel Helmhaus is one of the oldest hotels in Zürich. As early as 1356, under the name of Hie zum Rosslyn, it was used as a guesthouse for merchants and pilgrims.
Women took over the house’s destiny when Anna Reinhart married the reformer Ulrich Zwingli in 1524. She used the house to build up the city’s poor relief. At the same time, the famous altarpieces of the Grossmünster abbey were built into the paneling of the Helmhaus and thus saved from destruction during the Reformation’s iconoclasm. There, they remained forgotten for over 400 years.
When the Weibel and Mengis families took over the hotel in 1970, they named it Helmhaus in reference to the nearby museum. Since then, the name has been a promise for us to promote art and culture. And the women? They are still in charge and run our boutique hotel in Zurich with a great understanding of the needs of its guests and its 650-year history.
We are very much looking forward to welcoming you soon!
Esther Portmann & Helmhaus Team
