Geschichte der VILLA Paulus
Villa Paulus has a long history with several changes of ownership behind it.
The property was built in 1782 by the Diederichs trading family, which also provided the first mayor of Remscheid, Johann Gottlieb Diederichs, from 1808 to 1811. A portrait of Johann Gottlieb Diederichs can be found in the passageway to our smallest guest room, the "historical kitchen". The Diederichs family built three houses in a 10,000 square meter park, which was bordered by Hüttenstrasse, Königstrasse and today's Schüttendelle. The former main house stood in front of the present Villa Paulus, and to the left and right of it two more buildings were erected crosswise, one for the staff and one for the cantor.
In 1902 the Böker trading family acquired the property. The Böker family built the present Villa Paulus. The former main house was demolished for the construction, and the "Villa Böker", well known in Remscheid, was created. All features of the demolished house such as stairs, windows, shutters, doors and dormer windows were integrated into the new building, which is why the dormer window on the street side still bears the date 1782. Photos from 1929 show the current guest rooms with original furniture, the photos hang in the three large guest rooms, old photos with the cross buildings and today's Villa Paulus hang in the entrance hall.
In 1970, the city of Remscheid acquired the property from the Böker family. The city wanted to expand the B229, the two cross buildings stood in the way of the expansion, so the buildings were demolished in 1972. The largest part of the property was sold to commercial enterprises, so that today they are used by a tire trade, a forwarding agency and a steel trade. About 2300 square meters remained with the main house. Today's three large guest rooms, including the bar room, were used as rental accommodation until 2008. It is thanks to the tenant that the substance of the building could still be saved, as he carried out the most necessary maintenance measures. The two upper floors were used for a long time as a temporary solution for needy families, since 1993 they were completely empty.
In 2008, Kai Robert Paulus and Joachim Schreiber bought the almost uninhabitable property from the city and saved it from probable demolition. From 2008 to August 2010, the ground floor and the cellar were completely renovated, in which the kitchen is located today. Already the development of the cellar was a great challenge, because springs run under the building, so that a triple drainage with pump was necessary. After the opening of the restaurant business in August 2009, the core renovation of the two upper floors followed until October 2010, here three very spacious hotel rooms with sizes up to 50 sqm were created on each floor.
In 2018, the addition of a warehouse took place, from the outside historic appearance, so that the extension is indistinguishable from the old building. In this extension, the most modern technology was integrated, for example, also a fire alarm system with connection to the police, to offer our guests the maximum safety. At the same time, five new hotel rooms were created, and the freed-up storage space on the second floor was converted into a new hotel room. Likewise the two offices on the first floor here another hotel room was created. The two offices were merged and relocated to the historic annex on the first floor, which previously housed the "historic kitchen" guest room. The previously unused attic floor was elaborately ecologically insulated and newly opened up with an oak staircase in a historic look.
Three additional hotel rooms were built into the newly created space in the attic. Thus, after completion of the work, eleven hotel rooms in the main house are available to our guests, as well as three guest apartments in the guest house.
The guest house is located only 959 meters away in the street "Vieringhausen". We also saved this monument from demolition. In 2015 it was acquired, in 2016 it was core renovated, and in 2017 it was opened. It consists of four apartments. The largest apartment annex is privately rented to friends of the house. Used by Villa Paulus are the three apartments in the main house, each about 100 m², preferably for long-term rentals.
Work also continued steadily at Villa Paulus. The rooms second and third floor were equipped with air conditioning to create a pleasant room atmosphere even in summer.
Then in 2019, all the windows were replaced, here a replica was made according to historical models. Thus, each window is unique, and from the outside the exchange is not visible. After completion of this work, the Villa Paulus is a monument according to KFW standard energy-saving.
The last investments took place during the 2020/2021 pandemic. Here, the terrace was extended, as well as made laterally shieldable against wind and rain, if necessary.
Furthermore, energy-saving gas radiators were installed for heating.
Villa Paulus was completely digitalized during this time. Be it a digital locking system for the hotel rooms or a digital reservation and ordering system for the restaurant. In the kitchen, outdated technology was replaced with the latest technology.
With the completion of the work in 2021, we should be well positioned for the coming years and can be proud to have equipped this venerable house with everything the market currently has to offer.