Genuine hospitality since 1972

Spitzingsee, the history of a mountain village

Dear friends of the Arabella,

Let me introduce myself...... my name is Wolpi and I’m something of a castle ghost here at the Arabella. I was found wrapped in foil in a corner right at the back of the hotel’s archive cellar. So I still look pretty good for my age. I was born in 1972, descended from the Wolpertingers, was christened Wolpi and have lived in the Arabella Alpenhotel since birth. My main task was, and is now again, to please the guests and to guarantee high spirits. But above all, I am probably the longest-serving employee at the Arabella Alpenhotel. And I have really experienced a lot, participated in every change to the staff and the building, celebrated festivals, grand openings and much more.

Let me tell you a little bit about Spitzingsee and its eventful history.

Yours,

Our hotel timeline

1970 Initial plans by Josef Schörghuber to build a hotel at Spitzingsee
1971 Start of construction
1972 Opening in December
1987 Renovation of the swimming pool, lobby, restaurant & purchase of the staff house
1989 Demolition of the “Mayerhof” & extension of the staff house “Florian”
1991 Extension of the hotel with the Seehof building with conference centre (600 sqm) and 42 guest rooms
1992 Renovation of all guest rooms in the main building, installation of a modern fire alarm system
2002 Renewal of the building technology and conversion measures for fire protection, renewal of the facade & expansion of the catering with the Osteria “L’Oliva” with 95 covers and wine cellar
2003 Extension and renovation of the AlpenSpa
2011 Renovation of the bathrooms and water pipes in the main building, redesign of the lobby
2016, 2018 and 2019 Renovation of all rooms in the main building
2018 Construction and opening of the Spitzing Alm
2020 Extension of a new relaxation and fitness room with a view of the lake
To be continued...

The history of Spitzingsee and our hotel

1720 – The Alte Wurzhütte
The Alte Wurzhütte was first mentioned around 1720, probably one of the first larger houses at Spitzingsee. Gentian schnapps was distilled here from about 1870 and few travelogues of the first half of the last century failed to mention the “Wurzerhütte” and its brandy.

1890 – Cradle of skiing at Schliersee
As early as 1890, the bookseller August Finsterlin traced the first tracks in the snow on 3.2 m long Finnish boards. The first ski tours towards Spitzingsee soon followed.

1919 – The foehn storm at Spitzingsee and the Bockerlbahn
On 5 January 1919, a severe foehn storm hit and, along with subsequent storms on March 16 and July 8, uprooted around 300,000 trees (280,000 cubic metres). In order to remove such large quantities of wood from the forests around the Spitzingsee, it was decided that a narrow-gauge railway from the Fischhausen/Neuhaus train station to the Valepp and the Waitzinger Alm would be built – and so the Bockerlbahn was born. In the period from mid-June 1919, when initial plans were drawn up, until autumn 1922, the railway was built, the wood removed and the railway dismantled again. Up to 2,000 workers were employed in the construction and removal at this time. An unbelievable achievement then – as it is now.

1937 – Construction of the St. Bernard Church
Solemn inauguration by Cardinal Michael Faulhaber. The church is dedicated to St. Bernard of Menton, patron saint of Alpine people, mountaineers and skiers.

1942 – Dam
The Nazi regime planned to build a 17-metre-high dam near the Alte Wurzhütte. The intention was to dam the water of the Spitzingsee in order to generate energy. All residents and buildings were to be relocated. Fortunately, the project was never realised.

1948 – Construction of the electricity plant by engineer Karl Winterholler
Through his initiative, willingness to take risks and tenacious perseverance, the electricity plant was created and was decisive in supplying electricity in those years.

1949 – Construction of the first chairlift on the Stümpfling

1950 – Construction of the cable car from Josefstal-Neuhaus to Spitzingsattel.

1950 – 1952- Construction of today's Spitzingstraße, part of the German Alpine Road.

1952 – Opening of Hotel Mayerhof
This year saw the opening of Hotel Mayerhof, where our Seehof stands today.

1953-1961 – Expansion of the ski resort
With Kurvenlift, Osthanglift, Drei-Tannenlift, Firstalmlift, Lyra-Schlepplifte and Suttenbahn.

1963 – Decommssioning and dismantling of the Josefstal – Spitzingssattel cable car

1970 – 1972 – Construction of the Spitzingsee Hotel
Construction of the Taubensteinbahn and the ski lifts at Rauhkopf and Oberer Lochgraben

1977 – Avalanche blasting track
Construction of the valley station for the avalanche blasting track on Spitzingstrasse.

1988 – First alpine triathlon at Schliersee – Spitzingsee
Since then, the Olympic-distance triathlon has been an integral part of the German and international triathlon scene.

2006 – Bruno the bear at Spitzingsee
Bruno was the first brown bear to be sighted in the wild in Germany for over 170 years. In the summer he was also sighted in the Croda Rossa area, where he was picked up on June 25th. During his treks, Bruno became a political issue and an international media event and was also reported on by the New York Times, among others.

2003 to 2010 – Spitzingsee mountain railways
In 2003, the lift operations around the Stümpfling and Roßkopf mountains were taken over by Alpenbahnen Spitzingsee GmbH, who invested around €22 million in the ski resort. The construction of the new Roßkopf lift is part of an extensive modernisation concept for the traditional and popular ski resort just outside of Munich. As part of the concept, the following projects have been implemented so far: construction of two new detachable quad chairlifts with weather protection hoods, construction of a new restaurant at the Stümpfling mountain station, full snowmaking on the two main runs and other parts of the resort, expansion and improvement of the infrastructure, commissioning of a new children’s lift and construction of a floodlight system along the Stümpfling slope.