Family hotel for generations
A house with history
and emotions
We will not deal with the detailed chronicle of the Hotel Alpenfriede in this story, otherwise the article will simply be too long. This time we will not inform our guests and readers about facts and annual figures - rather more another time. We took a very emotional look at the beginnings of the Alpine Peace. And Gustl agreed to ask our curious questions and gave us questions and answers. So, let's go.
LET'S TRAVEL BACK ...
... to 1925. Maria, Gustl's mother, gives birth to her first child. Our regular guests will definitely "know" him - Ignaz, meanwhile his photo determines the recognition value of our house. But the first part of our story is not that simple. Maria was 24 years old at the time and cook at Hotel 3 Mohren in Ötz and Ignaz's father is NOT her husband. Yes, exactly - almost unimaginable for the time - an illegitimate child.
For most families, the greatest shame imaginable. But Maria's parents, Josepha and Ignaz, were different. More modern, more open-minded, more understanding. Maria was able to leave Ignaz with her parents in Sölden (today's Hainbacherhof, at the entrance to Sölden) and went to Sonnenhotel Hochsölden as a cook - the best hotel in Ötztal at the time, with running water on every floor. That was in 1934.
Maria received a piece of land in Hochsölden from her father and, just imagine, built the so-called Pulverhüttl all by herself - the cornerstone of today's Alpenfriede. On the ground floor there is a small shop where you can buy sun cream, ski goggles, gloves, postcards, stamps, chocolate, skis, etc. and on top 4 rooms with straw beds without electricity and running water for rent. In the morning and in the evening she worked as a cook and opened her shop in her leisure time. Maria's parents were always in Hochsölden on the Alm with Ignaz in summer (1st little hut on the right side when you drive towards Obstlerhütte).
From 1936 Maria began to build the Alpenfriede with great ambition. Remember, there was no road to Hochsölden at that time. Only the material ropeway that was put into operation in 1929. The first lift only opened in 1948, until then Hochsölden was only accessible on foot. During this time, around 36/37, Maria met her future husband Wilhelm Lengler, who was a guest in Hochsölden at the time. The two married in January 1939 - in October 39 their first child was born. Gustl. The first girl Hildegard in 1941 and Rita came along in 1948, as a latecomer - after all, Maria was already 47 years old.
1939...
... Wilhelm had to go to war too, he was stationed in Agram, today's Zagreb. Gustl still remembers the return of his father in 1947 as one of the most beautiful experiences from his childhood. From then on everything returned to normal a little. Wilhelm took care of the administration, the numbers and the office in the hotel. In his home town of Würzburg he
worked in a freight forwarding office and therefore had everything mathematically under control. Until 1956 he was the manager of the Sölden-Hochsölden and Hochsölden-Rotkogel lifts. Maria took care of the children, the rooms, the kitchen, the laundry and the service with the support of 1-2 employees.
DURING WAR...
...most of the guests came from Germany, above all there were many homeland or front vacationers, i.e. soldiers who used the time at home for vacation with their families. After that, the audience quickly became very international: English, French and, in the summer, many Swedes came. Unbelievable when you consider that flying was not part of everyday life back then and the guests mostly took the train to Ötztal Bahnhof, from there they took the Ötztal bus to Sölden and then walked to Hochsölden until 1948. Then only with the single chair lift.
With the prices from that time it’s going to be really fun. Gustl thinks he can remember when 1 pound was worth about 70-80 Schillings and an Englishman lived with it for a day on full board with 4 meals in the Alpenfriede. So breakfast (2 rolls, butter and jam), coffee, lunch, snack and dinner. Ski passes in the form of point cards were already available at that time. In a nutshell, the one chair lift from Sölden to Hochsölden was put into operation in 1948 and the lift from Hochsölden to the Rotkogel was opened in 1952.
Unfortunately Wilhelm died of cancer in 1970 and Maria in 1980 of old age. Ignaz died in 2012 in a retirement home in Sölden after a long illness (Alzheimer's).
Rita lives in Längenfeld and successfully runs the Hotel Rita with her two daughters. Hildegard has also settled in Längenfeld and most of us know Gustl from the Alpenfriede.