About
The restaurant Under the Golden Angel is the oldest restaurant in Boleslawiec. It was first mentioned in the 11th century and up to the 20th century it was a tavern. In 1538 the German Emperor Ferdinand I stayed here, in 1581 the tavern had burnt during the fire of Boleslawiec. The owner at the time Barthel Wolfarm reconstructed the inn to include horse stables. During this time he has built the beautiful gothic portal which resembles birch-tree roots. On the 14th of September 1610 the Chancellor of Czech Republic was a guest in the tavern. Also in 1683 Helen Elisabeth von Gledis was baptised in the tavern. In 1776 after another fire of the town the tavern was sold to Anton Mathaej. He decided to create a bas-relief with the Golden Angel and renamed the Tavern to its present name. Previously the inn was called Under the White Angel. In 1796 Johann Gottfried Mathaej took over the establishment from his father and had the pleasure to host the Napoleon himself on the 12th December 1812. The daughter of Johann - Louise Mathaej married Engelhard Gansel who at the time was the master of masonry guild. He became the greatest architect in Boleslawiec. His work includes the Tower by the Protestant Church, Railway Viaduct over the river and his home residence at Zgorzelecka 19 Street. On the 5th May 1848 Johann's son Carl Friedrich Mathaej took over the business and his family owned the inn until the II World War. During the war the building was completely destroyed and was rebuilt after the war ended. During the 60's the restaurant was under the management of Polish government's own organisation called 'PSS'. In 1991 the restaurant was taken over by the current owners who also in 1999 bought the Gansel residence. 12th December 1812 - Emperor Napoleon visit in Tavern Under the Golden Angel At 3 am Napoleon's procession arrived in front on the inn. This happened during his retreat after his unsuccessful campaign in Russia, his sledges were damaged and needed repair. During the repair Napoleon ate noodles with roasted fruit, the meal was served in a special vase made from Proskau porcelain from Napoleon's collection. He did not have any money to pay for the services so he decided to pay with this vase. The vase is still in the hands of the owners at the time. During the repair of the sledges Napoleon's attendant spotted a pair of beautiful horses in stbles. He demanded to swap the horses however owner's wife did not agree to that. After short negotiations the horses were swapped for the damaged sledges. Louise took sledges as a part of her dowry to the Gansel family. After that Gansel family moved to the USA to work as farmers. During tough times at the beginning of the 20th century they were forced to sell them and sold them during an auction in New York for 35USD and the story was featured in newspapers. Nowadays the sledges are displayed in museum. This history was written from the documents of current owners of the Restaurant. Vase from Proskau factory (near Opole) - from Napoleon's collection
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