History
• 1887: Construction of the building as the headquater of Dresdner Bank (now Commerzbank) under the architect Ludwig Heim.
• 1889: Opening of the Dresner Bank Headquater. The four courners of the ballroom still immortalise the four main offices of the Bank located in Dresden, Bremen, London and Berlin.
• 1945: The building and all Dresdner Bank subsidaries in the soviet part of Berlin were closed. Confiscation of all Dresdner Bank properties by the Soviet occupation forces.
• 1952: Renovation of the Building after World War II under the architect Richard Paulick.
• 1968: Foundation of the Staatsbank der DDR (Central Bank of East Germany).
• 1990: Dissolution of the Bank following the reunification of Germany. After the reunification of Germany the Building remains empty and unused. Dresndner Bank tries without succes to get the building returned.
• 1998: The Building is used to make the fil « Lola rennt » by Tom Tykwer. The film included an invented « Deutsche Transfer Bank » where the father of the main figure Lola works. The Bank scenes were filmed in the empty bank building.
• 2003: Hochtief, a German construction company buys the property from the Berlin Oberfinanzdirektion for 30 million Euros.
• 2004: Real estate development of the former Dresdner Bank Building within the « Opern Carrée Project ». The budget is 150 million Euros.
• 2006: October 12: Opening of Hotel de Rome as a Rocco Forte Hotel. The former funds hall of the Dresdner Bank is now the Ballroom of the hotel.
History of the Rocco Forte Collection
• 1935: Charles Forte, an Italian immigrant to the UK, opens a « Milk Bar » on Regents street in London … the company becomes the Forte Hotel Group (Trusthouse Forte)
• 1993: the Forte Hotel group faces a hostile takeover bid from the Media Conglomerate Granada the founding family is ejected with a settlement payment of £350 million. Two of the 6 children, Rocco Forte and his younger sister Olga Polizzi decide to reinvent their fathers Hotel business.
• 1996 May: Sir Rocco Forte founds RF Hotels.
• 1997 Frebuary: Opening of Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh..
• 1997 December: Acquisition of Hotel Savoy in Florence.
• 1999 January: Acquisition of Hotel Astoria in St Petersburg.
• 2000 January: Acquisition of Hotel Amigo in Brussels.
• 2000 April: Opening of Hotel de Russie in Rome.
• 2003 July: Acquisition of Brown’s Hotel in London.
• 2006 March: Opening of Villa Kennedy (Villa Speyer) in Frankfurt.
• 2006 October: Opening of Hotel de Rome (formally seat of Dresdner Bank) in Berlin.
• 2007: Rocco Forte Hotels are renamed Rocco Forte Collection.
Article by « Grand Hotels of the World & VB.com », written from « Cremerie de Paris ».
