Eden Hotel
The Eden Hotel also known as El Eden and The Eden is a former hotel and historic site located in La Falda, Argentina, in 45 km from Cabildo de Córdoba, one of the oldest colonial buildings still standing in South America.
History
The hotel was built in 1897 by German army officer Roberto Bahlcke. Its main shareholders were Ernesto Tornquist, Juan Kurth, Roberto Bahlcke and María Herbert de Kräutner. In 1905, the shareholders decided to dissolve the company due to financial difficulties. The property later passed to Walter and Ida Eichhorn, members of the German-Argentine community and documented supporters of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. In 1945, after Argentina declared war on Germany, the government seized the hotel as enemy property. After several failed attempts to reopen, the hotel finally closed in 1965 and was declared a National Historical Monument in 1988.Architecture
The Eden Hotel was designed in an eclectic European style combining French-inspired towers, German ornamental details, and imported materials. These features reflect the influence of European immigration on Argentine architecture at the turn of the 20th century. Its monumental scale and stylistic variety embodied the founders' ambition to establish La Falda as a high-end resort destination.At its peak the building included two floors, large salons, 100 rooms, and only four bathrooms per floor; later renovations expanded to 38 bathrooms, a dining hall for 250, auxiliary dining for children and staff, a ballroom, reading room, two winter gardens, a bar, and balconies overlooking a park with imported trees.