A magnificent history to match a magnificent hotel

Kämp – Hotel and Its City by Laura Kolbe published on 19 May: A magnificent history to match a magnificent hotel

Kämp – Hotel and Its City was released in the Mirror Room at Hotel Kämp on Thursday, 19 May 2016. Historian and professor Laura Kolbe has turned the scintillating and at times dramatic story of Hotel Kämp into a book that paints a vivid picture of the world inside the walls of the luxury hotel, as well as of the urban culture that surrounds it in a rapidly developing country.

Hotel Kämp is inextricably linked to the history of Finland and of Helsinki. It has been the favourite haunt of artists of the Golden Age of Finnish art, as well as of countless notables of culture, society and politics. The private rooms in Hotel Kämp have witnessed heated negotiations about the future of Finland, and its sumptuous rooms have hosted world stars since the late 19th century. Kämp has always been a venue of discussion, and it has also been the object of a few. And so it is now, in the form of Laura Kolbe’s book.

“The history of Hotel Kämp intertwines with the history Helsinki, urban culture, business and political turmoil. The hotel and the city have both aimed for a modern, high-quality, cosmopolitan European image."

Kämp can be viewed from the perspectives of architecture, social history, restaurant and musical entertainment, celebrity culture and the cultures of cuisine, drinking and customs. Hundreds of talented people have worked at Hotel Kämp, and it has played an important role in the history of accommodation and tourism in Finland.

“Hotel Kämp has always been either praised or condemned in the media,” says Kolbe, “a fact that speaks eloquently of the hotel’s status in the city. Even those who have never set foot across its threshold feel that it is an indelible part of Helsinki. Hotel Kämp is a local, national and international success story that continues to exert a powerful attraction,” Laura Kolbe tells readers of the book.

The book was read in advance by a group of Finnish experts and thinkers from the world of culture and business. The advance readers included Mika Pantzar, Arja Suominen, Alf Rehn, Susanna Pettersson, Sami Sykkö, Waltteri Torikka, Laura Aalto, Marc Skvorc, Rafaela Seppälä, Antto Melasniemi, Leif Jakobsson, Venla Silanterä, Pekka Mattila, Minna
Haapkylä and André Noël Chaker. The readers have promised to comment on the book. They can be interviewed about the book and are happy to give comments about it. All questions for advance readers should be submitted to PR and Communication Manager Sissi Ehrström. The book will also have presence in social media, and on Facebook you can even participate in a Hotel Kämp photo competition.

The book is available for at the price of €39.90 from Kämp Collection Hotels, Turun Kansallinen Kirjakauppa and Adlibris.

ISBN [978-952-93-6573-9], 264 p.

Enquiries:

Kämp Collection Hotels, Sissi Ehrström, PR and Communication Manager, tel. +358 50 567 0668, email: sissi.ehrstrom@kampcollection.com

Superson, Emmi Kupari, tel. +358 50 355 1025, email: emmi.kupari@superson.fi

Illustrations:

Magnificent photos from the lavishly illustrated book can also be found in the Hotel Kämp material bank.