History
More than 700 years on Adelgatan
Mayfair Hotel Tunneln on Adelgatan in Malmö holds more than 700 years of history. Under one roof the building has been a medieval merchant’s house, a royal residence, the town library and a sugar refinery before becoming a hotel – and deep below rest medieval cellar vaults from the early 14th century. Here is a short overview; the full story is in the hotel’s history book, which you can browse further down.
Tunneln has been here for many years, and I hope she will remain and continue to bring joy to guests, employees and owners for many years to come.
Through the centuries
Images from the hotel’s history – from the 16th-century portal to the medieval vaults today.
A short timeline
In the already established medieval town of Malmö, the oldest cross-vaults beneath the house are built, contemporary with the construction of St Petri Church. The house is a merchant’s house with four cloth stalls facing Adelgatan.
The wealthy cloth merchant and later mayor Jacob Fechtell demolishes the old stalls and builds the present house with its high stone staircase and sandstone portal – and a wine cellar in the preserved vaults.
By the Treaty of Roskilde, Skåne becomes Swedish. Lord High Steward Corfitz Ulfeldt, married to the Danish princess Leonora Christina, takes over the house.
Ulfeldt escapes his Swedish guards – in disguise, alarmed by a rumour of imprisonment in Finland. Tradition holds that he fled through the old vaults and out towards Adelgatan.
The house is rented as the residence of the Governor-General of Skåne, among them Rutger von Ascheberg, and is known as “the Governor’s Garden”.
The merchant Frans Suell, forefather of the well-known Malmö family, acquires the property. The vaults are used for storing goods.
The building is converted into the “Svanen” sugar refinery, next door to the rival refinery “Patrioten”.
Consul Hans Friis opens a cellar restaurant and names it after the long, tunnel-like vaults: Tunneln.
Hotel Tunneln welcomes its first guests. Elias Smith soon becomes sole owner and runs the hotel for decades.
Trine and Gunnar Kjems become owners. The house grows into today’s Mayfair Hotel Tunneln with more than 80 rooms.
Stories from the house
Ulfeldt’s escape through the vaults
In 1660 Lord High Steward Corfitz Ulfeldt slipped past his Swedish guards, in disguise and alarmed by a rumour of life imprisonment in Finland. According to the hotel’s history book he fled down into the old vaults and out towards Adelgatan. His wife, Princess Leonora Christina, fled the same day.
The name Tunneln
When Consul Hans Friis opened his cellar restaurant in 1866 he named it after the long, tunnel-like vaults. The restaurant in turn gave its name to the hotel that opened in 1908.
The building’s many lives
Merchant’s house, wine cellar, governor’s residence, sugar refinery and town library (1905–1946) – the building was almost everything before becoming today’s hotel.
This is a short overview. Throughout the hotel, small signs tell the story of individual rooms and details – and the full history is in the book above.