History
The earliest reference to a Wirtschaft zur Sonne in Küsnacht on Lake Zurich dates back to 1641. The inn with tavern rights, well documented over the next centuries, was built directly onto a fortified tower which probably dates back to the 14th century. In 1711, through an inheritance, the inn passed into the Guggenbühl family, who went on to manage it for more than two centuries.
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Until around 1900, the enterprise was continuously expanded and farmland, vineyards and new buildings were added to the family's holdings. The inn was regularly mentioned in travel descriptions of the time, and the innkeepers offered Sunday dances and music events tailored to the townspeople of Zurich. In 1839, a year after the lakeside road was completed, a new ballroom and banquet hall was opened, and stables and a court for coaches were set up in front of the inn. The innkeeper had his own landing built for the growing number of guests arriving by steamer. Towards the end of the 19th century, the keepers of the Sonne also played an active role in the construction of the railway line on the right bank of Lake Zurich and in the introduction of lighting. World War I brought prosperity to an abrupt end; only during the Interwar years did the business slowly begin to recover. The current proprietors paid great attention to the historic structural fabric during the extensive renovations in the 1990s. The 1911 ballroom with its stage was converted into a restaurant and modern guestrooms. The medieval tower and the historic restaurant with valuable paneling and decorative paintings are a continuing tribute to the centuries of hospitality in the newly renovated hotel. The restored 1839 ballroom and banquet hall, largely intact down to its swaying dance floor, is the architectural highlight of the hotel. The hotel has been a member of Swiss Historic Hotels since 2007.
