Anger Gisela and Sister Mizzi

Anton and Karoline managed their Hotel Anger in Karlsbad. Karoline became mother of three girls who were all as pretty as their Mama.

Ballerina Gisela ca 1900

Gisela and sister Mizzi ca.1900

The oldest daughter was Gisela, my grandmother.
The girls were educated as little ladies. This included a visit to a ballet school in Karlovy Vary and for Gisela a stay in an English boarding school where she learned to speak both English and French perfectly.

Mademoiselle Gisela ca 1901

Gisela with ballet-shoes 

Gisela with pompous hat

Nun übernahmen und bewirtschafteten Anton und Karoline Anger das Hotel Anger in Karlsbad . Karoline wurde Mutter von drei Mädchen, die alle so hübsch wie die Mama  waren.

Die älteste Tochter war Gisela, meine Großmutter.

Die Mädchen wurden zu  kleinen Damen herangebildet. Dazu gehörte der Besuch einer Ballettschule in Karlsbad  und für Gisela ein Aufenthalt in einem englischen Internat, wo sie neben Englisch auch perfekt Französisch sprechen lernte.

The failing Muskrat Business of Carl Anger

Carl Anton Anger sen. had meanwhile entered the fur business because it promised even more wealth.

Anton implemented artificial ponds in Neurohlau and  imported muskrats from America. But the muskrats mutated, the coat was not shiny, soft and smooth, but rough and unsightly. Making matters worse, the animals increased by leaps and bounds and  became a real  plague. Anton had to pay a lot for damages, lost a large part of his land and thus a large part of his wealth.

But they were far from  poor which came later. Anton then became directly stingy and miserly.

Anton Anger, Karoline, Gisela

Karoline, Anton Anger ca. 1900

Carl Anton Anger sen. war derweilen in das Pelzgeschäft eingestiegen, weil er sich davon noch mehr Reichtum versprach.

Er hatte in Neurohlau künstliche Teiche anlegen lassen und importierte Bisamratten aus Amerika. Aber die Bisamratten mutieren, das Fell war nicht mehr glänzend, weich und geschmeidig, sondern struppig und unansehnlich. Zu allem Übel vermehrten sich die Tiere sprunghaft und wurden zu einer regelrechten Landplage. Anton mußte viel Schadenersatz zahlen, verlor einen großen Teil seiner Ländereien und somit einen großen Teil seines Vermögens.

Aber arm waren die Angers noch lange nicht, das kam erst später. Da wurde Anton dann direkt knauserig und geizig.

Cul de Paris Fashion- Karoline Anger

Carl Anton Anger senior had large estates in Neurohlau, hotels in Marienbad (Marianske Lazne)  and Karlsbad. His son Anton was a spoiled young man who grew up in wealth and luxury.
Karoline was the daughter of the last military commander of the fortress Kufstein in Tyrol.
Her father Franz Stanek was moved to Prague as a postmaster.

Karoline  was extremely pretty. What was more natural than that the two fell in love with each other and wanted to marry. But Karoline was not socially acceptable, she did not belong to the class of the rich, snobbish middle class.

Anton married his Karoline anyway.

And he did not hide  her in the background either.  On the contrary: He introduced her to the snobbish society as his fashion doll.
She wore a narrow skirt, with a swelling behind,  called the Cul de Paris  It was a kind of skirt  with a large loop or train. Tthe front of the dress was practically flat from throat to toe, the sleeves were clubbed down tight.

Cul de Paris

On her head sat a little stylish hat, the  jacket or overcoat was trimmed with fur.

elegant lace gown

The fashion in the 1890 was characterized by long elegant lines.

On the many balls that the two attended her ball dresses were sewn from ornamental fabric made of interwoven threads, called lacework. She wore high-heeled, pointed, narrow shoes. If white stockings were modern, she wore white stockings, if the fashion demanded blue stockings, she was the first one to wear blue stockings.

It was no wonder that her name again and again appeared  in all the gossip columns.

This was precisely what Anton wanted.

They traveled to Paris and Nice, their honeymoon took them to Egypt.

Anton Carl Anger senior hatte große Ländereien in Neurohlau, Hotels in Marienbad und Karlsbad. Sein Sohn Anton war ein verwöhnter,  junger Mann, der in Reichtum und Luxus aufgewachsen war.

Karoline, die Tochter Franz Staneks, der letzter Militärkommandant  der Burg Kufstein in Tirol  war, bevor er  als Postmeister nach Prag versetzt wurde, war außerordentlich hübsch.  Was lag näher, als daß sich die beiden ineinander verliebten und heirateten wollten. Aber Karoline war nicht standesgemäß, sie gehörte nicht der  Klasse des reichen, versnobten Bürgertums an.

Anton heiratete seine Karoline trotzdem.

Und er stellte sie auch nicht in den Hintergrund.  Ganz im Gegenteil: Er stellte sie der versnobten Gesellschaft als seine Modepuppe vor.

Sie trug einen schmalen Rock, der hinten mit einem ausgepolstertem Gesäß, dem Cul de Paris versehen war. Darüber war eine Art  Überrock, der den Cul de Paris mit einer großen Schleife oder Schleppe drapierte. Das westenförimige Oberteil war eng und mit einem mit Fischbeinen gestützten Stehbündchen am Hals geschlossen. Die Ärmel waren keulenförmig unten eng.

Auf dem Kopf saß ein kleines Kapotthütchen , ihr Überjäckchen oder Paletot war mit Pelz verbrämt.

1890 wurden lange, elegante Linien modern.

Auf den vielen Bällen, die beide besuchten, waren ihre  Ballkleider aus Spitzentuff genäht, dazu trug sie hochhackige, spitze, schmale Schuhe. Waren weiße Strümpfe modern, so hatte sie weiße Strümpfe an, waren blaue Strümpfe Mode, so hatte sie diese an.

 

Es war kein Wunder, daß ihr Name in allen Klatschspalten aufschien, gerade das war es, was Anton wollte.

Sie reisten nach Paris und Nizza, ihre Hochzeitsreise führte sie  nach Ägypten.

Hans Funk falls in Love with Gisela Anger

But back then, in 1912, when Hans was twentyfive years of age and his journeyman years came to an end, he went to look for a bride. He did not have to walk far. Just around the corner.

On the other side of the City Theatre stood  the Hotel Anger. Anton Anger, the owner of said hotel had invited his friends to a festive dinner in honor of his daughter Gisela. She had just returned from England. 

After dinner, the band played dance music. Hans called on Gisela  as often as possible to dance with him.  He fell in love with her on the spot. And he wanted to marry her right away.
The next day he asked  formally Anton Anger for the permission to marry his daughter Gisela. For the  old Anger this could only be right, so came one chunk of money to the other.

Aber damals, 1912,  im Golden Zeitalter Karlsbads, als Hans 25 Jahre alt geworden  und  von seinen Wanderjahren  in den Hopfenstock zurückgekommen war,  ging er auf Brautschau. Weit brauchte er nicht zu laufen. Bloß um die Ecke.

Auf der anderen Seite des Stadttheaters befand sich das Hotel Anger. Einmal lud Anton Anger  zu  Ehren seiner ältesten Tochter Gisela, die soeben aus England zurückgekehrt war.

Nach dem Dinner wurde zum Tanz aufgespielt. Hans forderte Gisela so oft wie nur möglich zum Tanz auf. Er hatte sich auf der Stelle in sie verliebt. Und wollte sie auf der Stelle  heiraten.

Am nächsten Tag hielt er formell bei Anton Anger um die Hand seiner Tochter Gisela an. Dem alten Anger konnte dies nur recht sein, so kam ein Batzen Geld zum anderen.

Hans und Gisela Funk

Hans Funk's escape to Erzgebirge

After he had returned to the Hopfenstock, he became partner of the hotell-business, and when his father died, he became the sole owner of the hotel until 1946.

Then everything changed. He fled to a good soul in Saxony  in the German Democratic Republic, then a state in then Eastern Germany.
The good soul was a regular at the hotel.

Her relatives had a box factory in Crottendorf, so he could work as a laborer in their factory. Later he was director of community funds and even became mayor of the village.

Finally he married his lady friend  Paula. Now she ironed his white shirts with dedication, which we  could send from the West.

We have only seen him once before he died. The iron curtain was nontransparent , indivisible and  sunk deep, separating  the East from the West of Central Europe.

 

 

 

Nachdem er wieder in den Hopfenstock zurückgekehrt war, übernahm er die Mitleitung des väterlichen Betriebes und als sein Vater Franz starb, wurde er Alleininhaber es Hotels bis, bis 1946.

Dann änderte sich alles. Er floh zu einer guten Seele nach Crottendorf im Erzgebirge in der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik, die es mittlerweile auch schon lange nicht mehr gibt.

   

Die gute Seele war ein Stammgast im Hotel Hopfenstock. Ihre Verwandten hatten eine Kistenbauerei in dem Ort  So konnte er  als   Hilfsarbeier in ihrer Fabrik arbeiten. 

Später  wurde er Kassenleiter der Gemeinde Crottendorf und avancierte sogar zum Bügermeister.

 

Und er heiratete Tante Paula. Sie bügelte mit Hingabe seine weißen Hemden, die wir aus dem Westen schicken konnten.

Wir haben ihn nur noch ein einziges Mal gesehen, bevor er starb. Der Eiserne Vorhang war undurchsichtig,unteilbar tief  gesunken,  er trennte den Osten vom Westen Mitteleuropas.

Hans Funk Journeyman Years

My maternal grandfather Hans Funk was born  in the  home of his mother Anna. Anna was already forty two years  old, she was not a young mother any more. Meanwhile, she had become a competent business woman who was instrumental  in the planning and execution of the new Hotel Hopfenstock.

Thus Hans grew up with his siblings and servants.

Hans Funk in the middle

Hans Funk in Mozart Costume, frame made from Geysir sediments

I think my grandfather Funk was already as a child very serious and responsibly.

Once he wrote in my poetry album

Handle weise, handle recht,

wer sich nicht selbst befiehlt

bleibt immer Knecht.

Act fairly, act right,
who cannot command himself
will always be knight

 

 

 

Yes, according to this principles, he was always proper and decent, he was distinguished, he was the respected  „Herr Hans".

He regulary  wore a suit or frock coat, a white shirt and always a tie. A striped shirt or even a T-shirt would have been unthinkable!

His parents had destined him to take over the Hotel business.

He attended the well known “Lausanne  Ecole Hoteliere" -hospitality school- in Switzerland.

And then began his journeyman years, where he learned and worked in prestigious hotels across Europe, acquiring  simultaneously language skills.

His learning years took him to the Hotel Sacher in Vienna, one of the finest hotels in the world, where the aristocracy and diplomats would meet. A passionate relationship between him and the manager of the Hotel, Mrs. Anna Sacher developed. As a farewell gift she gave him the original recipe of the „Sachertorte“. Sacher cake is passed down only to the immediate family and  baked only on very special occasions.

Building boom 1870-1900 in Karlsbad

A building boom started: the small houses were demolished. The old and middle class houses in the Rococo, Neoclassical, Empire and Biedermeier style were  gradually torn down as part of the impressive reconstruction of the city during the years 1870-1900.

In its place were modern and comfortable furnished buildings created with the character of a city that became the most famous spa town of Europe.

The row of houses which the Funks bought,   were also replaced by a huge hotel complex made up of five buildings. There were two adjoining five-story houses in almost the same height. Due to the already rising Theatergasse  only a three-story house was built next to it.

In the rear part of the property  were two other buildings which stood probably always there, they were used as storerooms, ice- and wine cellar.



Hotel Hopfenstock vor 50 Jahren und 1908

On the ground floor in one of the five-story houses was a wall that had always been moldy and smelled of horse manure. It was said that  it was a remnant of the former stables of the Thurn and Taxis Post. Whatever had been tried, the mold did not go away. My grandfather had the wall propped up and replaced with entirely new material, but the mold remained. It will probably still be there today.



End of Stagecoach Era in Karlsbad

Franz Funk  married  Anna Voigt, the daughter of a cutler. But within a remarkably short time, she became a skilled hostess. She could pick up a conversation with every guest, to persuade him to yet another glass of beer or wine, list him the food that she had cooked in her small kitchen, or show him one of the remaining rooms for just one night.

Anna Voigt-Funk

It didn't take long, and she commanded an impressive number of waitresses, cooks and maids around and saw to complete cleanliness.

Nothing escaped her sharp eyes, she had the reins tightly in her  hands.

And then there was a colossal change.

In 1870 a railway line was opened from Karlsbad to Eger. A year later the line was extended to Prague. Many travelers now arrived in Karlsbad by train. Also the post was transported with the new railway line.

The stagecoach operation and all that was associated, was out of fashion. The stables in the same row as the Hopfenstock , where the horses  were housed, were useless. The horses were removed, the stables were empty, the buildings should be sold. This was a favorable opportunity which  Franz and Anna did not want to miss. They bought the all densely lined up buildings,  and had the whole row now.

Braunes Ross, Stadt Pest, Rennthier, Hopfenstock

Genealogie, oldest record

Our family was linked with the history of the springs at least three centuries. The maternal great-great-grandparents were Franz Funk and his wife Anna.

They founded the Hopfenstock.

Most Funks were goldsmiths. My great-grandfather, Franz Funk was also a goldsmith. I own a jewellery  ensemble from him, which was his tradesman’s masterpiece . It consists of two earrings, a medallion and a comb with elaborately rimmed garnets, turquoises and pearls. The socket is not gold, but metal, gold would have been too soft to handle, it was said.

But he must have thought, that, with a tavern and a few rooms for rent, he could get more money than with the manufacturing of jewellery. The couple looked for a suitable property. In the Theater Alley a small gabled inn was for sale. The house met their expectations: Across the street was the City Theater and the “Schildpark”. In the Schildpark stopped  all stagecoaches for  travelers to get off or to continue their journey to Prague or Nuremberg.

Franz and Anna did not think about it for a long time.They bought the little house.

Das kleine giebelige Haus

The Hop-Flower Emblem

Trinkbecher

Emblem of Karlsbad

Then in the same row of houses, were the stables for the horses of the Imperial and Royal Thurn and Taxis Post. The coachman used to meet at the Hopfenstock. It was an area in the tavern, with an engraved glass door showing flowery hops. The name Hopfenstock remained, even if later on there should emerge the fourth largest hotel in Karlsbad. The hop flower was also emblem for everything: dishes, cutlery, napkins, curtains,  bed linen, everything from the finest materials.

After the Second World War, when we had to leave Sudetenland,  my mother wraped  some stuff in a twenty Meter  long damask tablecloth which was interwoven with hops flowers. Later she cut the tablecloth into more pieces and made bedsheets from it.

I still have a soup plate and a coat hanger.

Pass on history before nobody remebers any more

Karlsbad

When someone in my new homeland Canada asks me, where I originally came from, and I answer  „from Karlsbad“, people want to know, „and where would we find Karlsbad on a map?“ Then I have to say,“ a Karlsbad in Sudetenland does not exist any more, it‘s currently called Karlovy Vary and is located in, again I have to consider: is it in the newly founded state of the Czech Republic?

Yet  was I born 1939 in Karlovy Vary, a world-famous spa town at that time, in our own Hotel  Hopfenstock.

I had kept a box full of documents that I wanted  to read and sort out. It was high time for me to deal with this project.
I was thinking of creating a little more order in the box: create small piles:a  genealogical tree;  photos, ID cards, resumes, transcripts, evaluation letters, official notices and letters, so many letters! The oldest letters and postcards were written in cursive. I found a great many letters from me, which I had largely written to my mother, also letters from my children were in the box.

The more I traced my family roots back, the more I found people of whom I have never heard before. This was my clan, our family. I understood that my ancestors, as well as my children, were a part of me, that we were never alone and never would be isolated.

And that we can knit the time, but never be able to unravel.

By the way, my first language is German, my second English. Please excuse mistakes, I try my best to avoid them.

One of the first to record the oldest Karlovy Vary legend about the discovery of the geyser known as the Sprudel by Charles IV was the renaissance physician Dr Fabian Sommer, a native of Karlovy Vary. In his book on the use of Karlovy Vary's waters from 1571, he relates the story thus:

It is said that Charles IV once went hunting in the woods, in the hilly areas and valleys where now the hot springs do bubble up. The woods in this place were full of game.

During the hunt, one of the hounds started to run after an animal. Whilst following it, the hound fell into a pool where hot water does now burst from the ground.

The hound began to howl in pain. The hunters ran to the hound, believing it to have been wounded by the animal it had been chasing. The marvel which they saw amazed them greatly. They stepped closer, pulled the hound from the pool, and then tasted of the hot water which had so distressed the hound.

The entire event was reported to the Emperor Charles IV, who then went in large company himself to marvel at this singular wonder of nature. In the presence of his physicians, the wise ruler said that such hot water may drive off many grave ailments, and that it was beneficial and invigorating. Then he himself used the water (it is said that he had an afflicted leg), and sensed assuagement and improvement. The ruler was overjoyed at this, and soon gave orders that the whole place be settled, and that around the springs, houses be built.

Ornament made from Sprudelstein