Over

time

The only constant is change, they say. And the Holzner makes no exception: since its opening in 1908, the hotel has been subject to constant, often drastic changes. The fact that there is no condominium, chain hotel or - who knows what could have happened - nothing at all here today is thanks to the people who have come and gone, and to no small portion of luck. Thanks to diligence, commitment and many a stroke of luck, the Holzner has retained its original charm over the years and over time has become a holiday retreat for all generations.

A family affair

since 1908

Hans Holzner, an experienced hotel manager, and his wife Maria, née Krawany from Mödling near Vienna, became directors of the Oberbozen Hotel, which had been built by the Rittnerbahn AG. He was able to buy the hotel from the company as early as 1911. After his early death in 1939, his eldest son Herbert took over the management of the hotel together with his mother. The war and post-war period were marked by privation and constantly recurring rumours about the sale of the hotel. It was only after Herbert's death in 1968, when his nephew Hans took over the hotel together with his parents Wilhelm and Herta, that the house could be renovated and restored piece by piece. When Hans and his wife Marianne had already brought six children into the world in the 90s, the Holzner was increasingly transformed into a hotel for families. In 2008, their third son Wolfgang and his wife Monika, née Waldner from Schenna, took over the family business in what is now the fourth generation.
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Architectural history:

The beginnings

In 1906, the construction of the cog railway from Bolzano to Renon and the associated hotel on a natural terrace on the southern slope of Oberbozen began on behalf of the Renon Railway Inc. The builders Musch and Lun from Merano entrusted engineer Joseph Riehl with the planning, implementation and construction management of the mammoth project. A first draft of the hotel was rejected because it envisioned a project that was too urban in appearance. The second design was in the so-called Swiss Alpine style, an Art Nouveau style adapted to the Alpine region. Plans by the architect brothers Ludwig for an extension of the hotel were already available in 1912, but they were discarded with the outbreak of the First World War.

Architectural history

until 2008

It was not until the late 1960s and early 1970s that significant changes and renovations were made to the hotel again: the utility rooms were completely renovated, the former summer house was given central heating, all rooms were equipped with their own bathrooms, the open breakfast veranda on the south side of the house was converted into an enclosed dining room, and the large staircase leading to the park was replaced by a terrace.
In 2008, the indoor and outdoor pool was built below the house after a design by architect Ulrich Weger.

The latest

extensions

In 2013, Wolfgang and Monika Holzner launched a competition for architects, each of whom put down on paper their vision for the Holzner in the decades to come. In 2014, the first construction lot of the competition winners bergmeisterwolf from Brixen was implemented: Once again, the Holzner's utility rooms were adapted to modern requirements, the 1908 restaurant found its place on the north side of the building, an elevator and a new staircase were built within the framework of the fire protection ordinance, and a new version of the tower that had already graced the Holzner in its founding days was erected. In 2018, the sustainable project was completed with the Bergmeister Wing with underground parking and Eden Suites, as well as the Liberty Spa.

In the attic of the house you will find our house museum with display boards and unique historical visual material on the history of the house, the Holzner family and the development of tourism on Renon. Why not combine a visit to the museum with a visit to the panoramic tower? Binoculars and keys are available at the reception.


Milestones

Founding days

1907
In April, the construction of the Renon railway is completed and in July, the hotel opens its doors under the name Hotel Maria Schnee. However, after technical problems occur on the train tracks, the hotel is closed again.
1908
On 29 February, the Renon railway can finally be put into full operation, and hotel director Hans Holzner and his wife Maria are pleased to be able to open the hotel in summer, this time under the name Hotel Oberbozen. Shortly afterwards, Archduchess Marie Valerie of Austria, youngest daughter of Emperor Franz Joseph I and Empress Elisabeth, visits the hotel.
1909
As the second child of Hans and Maria (Johanna was born in 1905) Herbert Holzner is born on 19 August. Only one month later his father Hans founds the Oberbozen volunteer fire brigade and heads it as captain.
1910
Martha von Bethmann Hollweg, wife of the German politician and Reich Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg, spends her summer holiday at the Oberbozen Hotel. On 9 November the second son of Hans and Maria, Wilhelm Holzner, is born in Merano.
1912
Hans Holzner buys the hotel from the Rittnerbahn AG (Renon Railway Inc.) and plans an extension of 80 beds and a central heating system with the architect brothers Ludwig from Munich. The project is never realised.

World War I

1915
At the age of 44, Hans Holzner is drafted and stationed in the camp for war refugees in Mitterndorf an der Fischa. During the course of the war, the hotel was requisitioned by various army units.
1917
In the summer, Maria, who until then had tried to make ends meet by growing vegetables and keeping cattle, begins to sell household appliances, wine and office equipment. Refugee families from Bolzano are housed in the Villa Maria.
1918
In November, all the villas in Maria Assunta are occupied by Italian army units. Maria complains in letters to her husband that there are only Italian newspapers available and that she therefore does not know what is happening in the world. Meanwhile, the officers' mess is using the hotel's kitchen.
1919
In mid-March Hans finally returns home.

Interwar period

1920
The hotel is open for the summer season for the first time since the end of the war.
1922
After the fascists take power in Italy, Hotel Oberbozen is renamed Hotel Holzner to prevent the name from being Italianised.
1923
Eugenio Pacelli, later Pope Pius XII, spends his summer holiday at the hotel.
1925
The family's previous private home is turned into a bed and breakfast called Villa Maria. Today, the Gloriette Guesthouse stands on the site where Villa Maria once stood.
1930
In July the newly built Café Holzner opens (today's Café Fink). The hotel is renamed Hotel Savoia after all.
1931
On 24 November, Hans Holzner is made a Cavaliere of the Crown of Italy (Knight of the Italian Crown) for his efforts on behalf of tourism in South Tyrol.
1933
Hans suffers a stroke, Herbert and Maria take over the management of the hotel. The youngest son Wilhelm Holzner wins the gold medal in cross-country skiing at the student world championships, the following year he graduates from the Polytechnic University in Turin.
1935
The tennis courts near the hotel are built, and international competitions are held on the new courts as early as 1936. Hebert Holzner becomes the new captain of the Oberbozen volunteer fire brigade.
1936
Wilhelm Holzner wins gold again at the World Student Championships, this time in the Nordic skiing discipline.
1938
In January Herbert Holzner becomes chairman of the Oberbozen music band.
1939
Hans Holzner dies on 15 April at the age of 68.

World War II

1939
In July, all tourists have to leave South Tyrol. The hotel is confiscated by the Resettlement Company, which moves to Klobenstein after bombing raids on nearby Bolzano.
1940
As part of the South Tyrolean "Option", Wilhelm Holzner and his wife Herta move to Berlin.
1943
The hotel is occupied by the officers of the 54th Flak Regiment of the German Wehrmacht.
1945
In January, Herta returns to the Ritten with her sons Helmuth, Werner and Peter, and only in late summer does her husband Wilhelm also return home after a six-month walk.

Post-war period

1948
The youngest son of Wilhelm and Herta, another Hans, is born on the ground floor of the hotel on 18 November. The summer before, the hotel business could be resumed under the new name Parkhotel Holzner.
1950s
Rumours of the sale of the hotel to the ANA (Associazione Nazionale degli Alpini) circulate.
1964
There is a severe accident on the tracks of the rack railway with four people killed and several seriously injured. The construction of a cable car on this section of the railway is now being pushed ahead at a faster pace.
1966
On 16 July, the new Renon cable car, at that time the longest cable car in Europe, is opened.
1968
Herbert dies on 28 July at the age of 58.
1969
Maria dies on 30 March at the age of 92. Wilhelm's wife Hertha runs the business from then on as a so-called Garni, assisted by her youngest son Hans.

Revival

1970
The coffee house and Villa Maria are sold. The young hotelier Hans Holzner opens the Eule nightclub on the ground floor of the house, where he will also meet his future wife.
1974
Hans and his wife Marianne take over the management and are able to carry out numerous renovations in the following years.
1978
In August, poet Hilde Domin is spending her holidays at the Holzner.
1979
Wolfgang, the third child of Hans and Marianne Holzner, is born on 16 September.
1985
The Renon narrow-gauge railway is renovated and the station at Maria Himmelfahrt is reconstructed according to original plans.
1993
Raoul Schrott spends a holiday at the Holzner, and in 1995 his cycle of poems Hotels is published featuring the Holzner among others.
1996
Journalist and writer Indro Montanelli spends his holidays at the Holzner.
1997
After Hans and Marianne have had six children in the meanwhile, Parkhotel Holzner becomes a founding member of the Family Hotels South Tyrol.
2001
The legendary Eule nightclub is finally closed after more than 30 years.
2005
Director Wim Wenders spends his holidays at the Holzner.
2007
Architect Ulrich Weger is entrusted with the construction of the indoor and outdoor swimming pools including a bio-heating plant.

Recent developments

2008
Hans' and Marianne's third child Wolfgang Holzner and his wife Monika take over the management of the hotel. In the same year, the house is awarded the title of "Historic Hotel of the Year in South Tyrol".
2008
In May, Nobel Prize winner for medicine Mario R. Capecchi spends his holidays at the Holzner.
2009
The new Renon cable car is opened on 23 May.
2012
Wolfgang and Monika Holzner announce an architectural competition for the further development of the hotel.
2014
The first construction lot of the extension in cooperation with the architect duo BergmeisterWolf is implemented.
2018
The last construction lot of the extension within the framework of the sustainable large-scale project is realised. The following summer, cabaret artist Eckart von Hirschhausen spends his holidays at the Holzner.
2021
In cooperation with the climate neutrality alliance turn to zero, the CO2 footprint of the hotel is measured for the first time and subsequently compensated. This means that a holiday at the Holzner will be climate neutral from 2022 on.
2022
The Holzner family develops and enacts the "New Tradition". A comprehensive sustainability concept with a catalogue of measures designed for the coming years. The first area to be tackled is catering at the Holzner, with the aim of reducing the carbon footprint of the culinary offerings from 360 to 180 tonnes of CO2 per year.


The most beautiful (hi)stories

from the Holzner

Sustainable

thinking

The Holzner has been family-owned for almost 120 years and four generations. Looking back on eventful times defines our today and our future. We are constantly implementing comprehensive measures to reduce our CO2 emissions and keep our hotel future-proof. We received the Condé Nast Johansens Award for Excellence in the category "Best for green practices" for our sustainability concept. Since 2024, we have held GSTC certification (Global Sustainable Tourism Council) and the South Tyrol Level 3 sustainability label.

Our sustainability concept