History of the "Feldberger Hof" |
||||
| The “Feldberg” was first mentioned in documents in the year 983 a.D., when it was still called „Veltberch“. Translated into standard german it means the “bare mountain“ - and as such it was mainly used as a pasture at that time. Historians are united in their opinion that the year 1859 can be called the birth year of the tourism at the Feldberg, because on the occasion of the wedding of the badenese grand duke Friedrich I with princess Luise, daughter of the German emperor Wilhelm I., the Friedrich-Luisen-tower was dedicated at the Feldberg. Four years later in 1863, 20 citizens of the neighbouring commune of “Menzenschwand” founded an incorporation with the goal of erecting a hotel or spa on the Feldberg, which is today’s “Feldberger Hof” and which was opened up just under a year later on the 20th of June 1864. At this time the hotel consisted of 18 rooms with a total of 20 beds, an inn and a dining-room. Any day-tourism was averted by the then bad road conditions. Consequentially the first leaseholder, Augustin Mayer, managed the “Feldberger Hof“only for 3 years. The second leaseholder, R. Beckert, as well was only able keep the business going until 1876. In 1879 a native from Freiburg called Carl Mayer took over the hotel for leasehold. After the death of his wife in 1881 he managed the hotel alongside his sister Franziska “Fanny” Mayer, who became famous under the name of “Feldberg mother” before the siblings of Mayer eventually bought the hotel in 1884. In 1885 the completion of the new Feldberg road brought about the much desired boost, so that the “Feldberger Hof” was extended in the same year. The number of rooms grew to a total of 26 and even the existing inn was extended and decorated with pictures by the two painters from Freiburg called Luz and Weber. The year of 1891 is known as the birth year of the German ski-sport. At this time the French Dr. Pilet, the eponym of the street of the „Feldberger Hof“, climbed as the first person the Feldberg with Nordic skies. In November of the same year the rhinelander Fritz Breuer founded together with Oskar Faller, Carl Schlimbach, Karl Thoma II and III and Rudolf Thoma the first ski club – the ski club Todnau. At the same time the southeast-side of the hotel was extended with a large hall. In 1894/95 the economics building followed as well as a three-storey central block with 70 beds and 40 additional rooms. The Bismarck monument, a 12 meter high granite obelisk with a bronze relief for the commemoration of the “iron chancellor“was inaugurated in 1896 at the peak of the Feldberg. The fast ever-growing popularity of the Feldberg through the new trend-sport of skiing made it necessary in 1904/05 to extend the hotel further. After the new extension the hotel had 135 rooms with 230 beds. Furthermore a dining-hall with 500 seats and the still existing “Hebelstube“with beautiful wall paintings of the poet Johan Peter Hebel, was constructed. After a further extension in 1910 the “Feldberger Hof“ finally had a total of 300 beds. The strenuous and exhausting extensions and modernizations took their toll and that is why the hotel owner, who had grown older in the meantime, decided that he hand-over the hotel to his son Oskar Mayer. The “Feldberger Hof” was then sold to the son Oskar Mayer and the close friend, hotelier Albert Schladerer from Staufen (famous for spirit-specialties from the Black Forest). In 1936 the new owners redefined the “Feldberger Hof” from scratch and used herby the then highly modern building technique of a reinforced concrete skeleton, the same as you can still find today in most modern buildings. After the 2nd world war the daughter of Oskar Mayer, Veronika Wiedemann, took over the hotel until the families Mayer and Schladerer decided in autumn 1971 to sell the “Feldberger Hof“ to the brothers Reich from the neighbouring village of Lenzkirch. In 1973 the brothers Reich started with the conversion of the “Feldberger Hof” into a sports-hotel. In several stages of the construction they renovated the middle section and afterwards they started to pull down the west wing which got replaced with a totally new wing with 28 holiday flats. In the course of the modification measures an underground car park with 150 parking bays, a line of shops with a snack bar, a bowling alley, a beer bar, a souvenir shop, a ski rental place and a supermarket were built. After completion in December 1978 the “Feldberger Hof” finally had a capacity of up to 300 hotel guests. The last structural change done by the brothers Reich was the indoor water park with a sauna, solarium and a large swimming pool. In October 1993 Emil Reich sold the hotel to the family of Denise and Thomas Banhardt, which are continually working on improvement of the choice available and the comfort of the “Feldberger Hof”. Since the takeover by the Banhardt family, the mountain village „Silva Nigra“, the child paradise “Villa Wuschel“ and the „Wintergarten“ were added. Furthermore the reception hall inclusive the “George Thoma-Bar”, the “Hebelstube”, the bowling alley as well as the snack bar were renovated and modernised. The Banhardt family invested a total of just over 10 million euro into the conversion- and renovation work. A new section with 27 new apartments, a hall for squash, football and badminton, a fitness centre, a miniature golf facility, a fun-park with a climbing wall and 50 m long giant slide in the swimming pool area, were added. The “Feldberger Hof” has been a member of the hotel co-operation „FAMILOTEL“ since 1998 and has been awarded with the 5 crown distinction for highest family competence in their over 10-year membership. In 2003 a wellness-island for relaxing and unwinding, as well as the vitrification of the hotel front were built, to create an even better and more comfortable living space for the well-being of our guests. In December 2009 the new child play-area called “Happy`s Kinderland“ was opened up with approx. 330 square meters of play area on two floors. |
|
|||
