A Family Hotel Grown Over Time

1904: Gottfried Schieder, a farmer from Tisens in Kastelruth, purchased ‘Schgaguler Schwaige’ on Seiser Alm. With his family and cattle in tow, he came to Seiser Alm where he farmed the land and gave hikers who were travelling from St Urlich a bed for the night. 1910-11: A mountain hut was constructed to accommodate the growing number of hikers. 1923: Gottfried’s second son, also called Gottfried, took over the farm. As one of the first permanent inhabitants of Seiser Alm he became a pioneer of the village. 1935-1936: The funicular railway from St Ulrich to Seiser Alm was built. Inevitably, even more hikers started coming to the village. 1951: His daughter Martha Schieder and her husband Ludwig Demetz took over the business. 1956: As skiing was becoming more and more fashionable, Martha and Ludwig built the ‘Ludy’ ski lift. 1958: The visitor accommodation was burned to the ground so the family decided to build ‘Hotel Sonne’. All building materials were transported using the funicular railway from St Ulrich. 1959: The hotel opened its doors. Guests arrived with the funicular railway and their luggage was transported by horse and cart. 1975: The hotel was fully renovated. A shower, WC and phone line was installed in each room, and a lift was built to carry guests to the different floors. 1983: Martha’s daughter Edeltraud Demetz and her husband Gerhard Burgauner inherited the hotel. Soon after, the hotel became more accessible with the construction of the road linking Ritsch with the hotel. In the years that followed, Hotel Sonne developed step-by-step into a four-star hotel, that today continues to offer a place for revitalising holidays in Seiser Alm.