The owners and history of the hotel

The small farming village of Mandarfen was sparsely populated. Apart from 3 houses, only 2 of which were inhabited, there were only stables for the livestock, which protected us from starvation. Until 1927, our house was a semi-detached house with an attached stable.

The Andreas Hofer was not yet an inn, but a simple farmhouse, the house name of the two families who lived there at the time was “Katerer and Zischgn”.

The first major fire broke out and the house burnt down completely.

The grand opening of the new and first “Gasthof Andreas Hofer”. Our hotel was named after the then owner Josef Neururer (Alter Katerer), who was the spitting image of our Tyrolean freedom fighter of 1809, Andreas Hofer. The inn was the first building with central heating, electricity and running water. It was technically advanced for its time.

From the chronicle of the Plangeroß volunteer fire brigade

“On 25 January, a fire broke out in the Andreas Hofer inn in Mandarfen. The house was ravaged by flames and burnt to the ground.” Under the impact of this disaster, the men of Plangeroß decided to found the Plangeroß volunteer fire brigade.

The inn was rebuilt and by 1948 it was hosting many hikers and skiers from all over the world.

The Andreas Hofer guesthouse was once again on fire. But the men from the Plangeroß volunteer fire brigade were already on site. It was freezing cold, the wind was whistling through the valley and wild snowfall brought three and a half metres of fresh snow to the people of Mandarf. The water pump was transported from Plangeroß to Mandarfen by horse and cart in the most adverse conditions with a high risk of avalanches. Despite these poor conditions, the fire brigade managed to extinguish the fire.

Miraculously, no lives were lost in any of these fires. Probably the most valuable item in the house is the crucifix, which survived all these fires without damage and is still hung in the hotel restaurant today.

In that year, the house was rebuilt and took on the appearance it still has today.

Thomas Auer expands the offer for his guests and builds a ski lift and a small ski hut at the entrance to Mandarfen. In the same year, on 9 March 1995, daughter Franziska Auer was born.

The guesthouse was extended and improved with a sauna, steam bath, solarium, passenger lift and new rooms, and an ApreSki restaurant was built in the cellar – the Dorfstadl.

Thomas and his first wife Carmen Auer ran the small, traditional inn with much love and passion and expanded it to include a grocery shop. Gernot Auer was born that same year on 20 April 1992.

On 22 January 1992, Mrs Paula Auer (then landlady of the Hotel Riffelsee) bought the Gasthaus Andreas Hofer together with her son Thomas Auer. The date was a very special one for the Auer family as Franz Auer /alias Boschn Franz/ (state-certified mountain guide and ski instructor) and husband of Paula Auer, was born on 22 January 1927. He was giving ski lessons on the day of the purchase and was only informed of the good news in the evening.

Walter Neururer died in an accident that year and his wife Vera did not want to continue running the business, so the inn was put up for sale.

The Andreas Hofer in Mandarfen was the inn on the square and many celebrations were held there.

With the construction of the Rifflsee cable car, winter tourism became increasingly important, but the big boom only came with the construction of the Pitztal glacier cable car.

After the death of Josef Neururer, his son Walter Neururer took over the inn and continued to run it.

The 50s were the times when the economy stabilised again, which was also noticeable in the Pitztal. More and more guests sought the peace and idyll of the Pitztal mountains.

At that time, summer tourism was the main driving force for tourism in Pitztal, winter tourism was only a minor side effect.