Our Story

How it all began

Our hotel or the former „Zum Ochsen” originated from the old „Roter Ochse”, one of the city’s oldest hotels. It was first documented in 1231 and is looking back onto an eventful past over all the centuries of its existence.

The inn’s name derived from the fact that the area once held oxen markets. At the time, the “Roter Ochse” was the property and inn of the butcher guild, which played a significant role among Würzburg’s guilds. A legend tells the story of how it came into possession:

A Würzburg butcher returning home from the countryside encountered a group of henchmen in the forest who had kidnapped an aristocratic young lady from her castle. The courageous butcher managed to free the young lady and, at her request, took her to Würzburg and the “Zum Ochsen” inn. Delighted about her rescue, the rescued damsel immediately purchased the “Zum Ochsen” inn and gifted it to the butcher guild as a token of her appreciation.

In the past

On the night of March 16th 1945 Würzburg was bombed. Within a few minutes British planes turned the city into an inferno. As the last fires died out after three days, only seven buildings were still intact in the old city – the most devastating destruction after Dresden and Pforzheim.

Traces of the war were still visible in Würzburg even in 1952. Due to the massive damage the furniture store in front of the inn had to be completely torn down. The “Zum Ochsen” used the remaining property of the torn furniture store to slightly expand.

Current day

The former “Zum Ochsen” inn now is owned by the Mohr family since 1991. After extensive renovations and modernizations under the direction of Franz Mohr (decd. 2017) the Hotel Residence opened its gates in 1992.