The history of the Hotel Hirschen in Schwarzenberg
The history of the Hirschen
Peter Fetz is a 10th-generation hotelier. We would like to give an insight into the history of our historic house.
The story of the Hirschen dates back to the year 1755 when a catastrophic conflagration destroyed the church and 14 buildings surrounding it.
The innkeepers were also traders and money lenders and played a correspondingly large role. Schwarzenberg’s most important inn has always been the Hirschen. The so-called «Maria-Theresien-Concession» enabled the Hirschen-host to trade in all types of goods. Peter Fetz’s great-great-grandfather Josef Anton Fetz (1834–1875) also held a concession as a fur trader. He traveled to the world's largest fur fair in Nizhniy Novgorod, 300 km east of Moscow, where he purchased beaver furs, which were necessary to make the traditional winter headgear, the «Bräma-Kappe». Such a journey usually took six months or more.
One of the first Hirschen-hosts after the fire in 1755, great-great-great-great-great-grandfather Josef Anton Metzler (1753–1796) gained renown due to his relationships with the art world.
Large-scale farmer, grocer and manufacturer in one, Metzler also developed a production and trading company for muslin and cotton goods, with business relationships as far as Milan, Vienna, Bohemia and Hungary. As the wealthiest man in this region at that time, he also acted as asset manager for painter Angelika Kauffmann (1741–1806). Angelika Kauffmann, who financially supported young, talented people learning a craft, enquired in her letters whether the money was being well spent. If this was not the case, she suspended her sponsorship. Today’s 4 star hotel Hirschen experienced its heyday under the Natter family.
Kings, Artists and Characters
Around 1856, King Max II of Bavaria visited the Hirschen in Schwarzenberg with his royal traveling party.
The memory of this historic visit is preserved in the "King Max Suite". He was to become one of several nobles and dignitaries who paid a visit to our house.
In the same year also Eduard Mörike was a guest to spend his belated honeymoon here with his wife Margarethe Speth. Today, a hiking trail from the village of Schwarzenberg up to the Hochälpele commemorates the high visit, as does the "Eduard Mörike Room" in the historic part of the Hotel Hirschen.
Under the direction of Josef Anton Fink (1848–1911), the current Landammann Hall was built around 1882.
Under the guidance of his daughter Anna Berlinger, the Gasthof Hirschen was a popular destination for textile barons from the Rhine Valley, who spent almost every weekend at Mrs. Berlinger's establishment. At the end of the 30s my grandfather Albert Fetz leased the Hirschen together with my grandmother Gertrud until 1949.
In 1952, my grandfather purchased the Hirschen, but continued leasing it out until 1975. This was when the career and leadership of my own father, Franz Fetz, began at the Hirschen, developing it into the house that nowadays graces the village square of Schwarzenberg. Franz also made his passion for art and music a key element of the hotel, bringing added life to the main hall of the Hirschen in the form of the popular «Wälderness» concert series.
Peter Fetz has run the Hirschen since November 2017 and looks forward to the countless stories the future of this house has yet to tell.
