Hotel Zum Hir­schen — Elixir of life for modern pil­grims

Uni­versal Wisdom

In ancient illus­tra­tions, images of deer often accom­panied those of mother deities. With their antlers stret­ching towards the sky, they were pre­destined to unite see­mingly con­tra­dictory things: the earthly and the divine, the material and the spi­ritual. The stag’s antlers, which renew them­selves every year, were often com­pared to the bran­ching tree of life and made the animal a symbol of renewal and fer­tility. In Celtic myths and fairy tales, the deer became the wise soul-guide: it knew its way through the thicket of the forest and showed tra­vellers the way out. Its alert pre­sence is nou­rished by a deep inner peace and strength. In China, on the other hand, the stag is regarded as a magical animal and is a symbol of vitality and lon­gevity. Magic powers are attri­buted to its antlers. In pic­tures, stags are often depicted with medi­cinal herbs in their mouths.

And with that, ever­y­thing has already been said. Even if China and Ireland are a long way away from Unsere Liebe Frau im Walde, the uni­versal sym­bolism of the deer seems to have found its perfect expression here, in this hidden corner of the earth: in the essence of a house and its hosts.

Authen­ticity through change

Located directly on the central village square next to the pil­grim’s church, you will spot the simple and elegant building from afar. The docu­mented origins of the Gasthof Zum Hir­schen date back to the 12th century, when the adjacent monastery was founded. Unsere Liebe Frau im Walde remained a busy, but very secluded pil­grimage site over the cen­turies. It was not until 1939 that it was finally con­nected to the modern world by the road through the Gampen Pass. At the beginning of the 1970s, long-term tenant Alois Kofler bought the inn from the church, and a number of struc­tural altera­tions were made.

In 2016, Alois’ grand­children, Ingrid and Mirko Kofler-Mocatti, inhe­rited the business from Alois and set a new course – with a great deal of care, thought, and a well-founded tourism concept. The ori­ginal signi­fi­cance of the his­toric hostel for pil­grims was taken up again and decon­s­tructed for the present, under the motto “Authen­ti­zität in der Ver­än­derung” (“Authen­ticity through Change”). The old and the new enhance each other in a har­mo­nious syn­thesis; the focus on the essen­tials, and on the essence and history of the region, has been shar­pened both archi­tec­tu­rally and in terms of content.

The old village inn has thus become a tim­eless and inspiring refuge for holi­day­makers seeking peace, pleasure and active rela­xation in the heart of the Non val­ley’s mountain land­scape. The locals – big and small alike – still gather in the Gasthof zum Hir­schen: for the mid-morning drink after the church mass, for wedding cele­bra­tions, or simply for a cup of coffee and an ice cream. There is pro­bably no better con­fir­mation of the inn’s suc­cessful, authentic trans­for­mation.

The redis­covery of the essential

The Modenese architect Lorenzo Aureli was com­mis­sioned to develop the struc­tural redesign of the Gasthof zum Hir­schen in 2017. In col­la­bo­ration with the inn’s visionary owners, he suc­ceeded in mas­tering the demanding balancing act between reduction and refi­nement, the syn­thesis of which runs through the overall concept of the house:

“Reduction is the redis­covery of the essential. Every project must first focus on the essen­tials. A draft, a design always includes the sub­traction, the omission of ever­y­thing super­fluous, even if you don’t see the reduction at first glance. Moreover, while a project must emphasize the essen­tials, it must also be “refined”, that is, radiate a simple ele­gance and inte­grate modern-day com­forts. To achieve this, we con­cen­trated on the quiet, peaceful aura of the setting and the quality of regional, tra­di­tional mate­rials.”

The Gasthof is domi­nated by non-colours. Ever­y­thing is in white and black, or in muted brown and grey tones. With a few deli­berately set colour accents, the house refers back to the natural land­scape of the Nonsberg range: dan­delion yellow, radicchio red, and petroleum blue.

The rooms of the house cap­tivate with clear lines and a mini­malist design that conveys peace, spi­ri­tuality and con­tem­plation. The medi­tative cha­racter is enhanced by sophisti­cated tex­tiles in white and amber, remi­niscent of the monk’s robes of former times. The mini­malist bath­rooms smell of lemon thyme and cedar wood. Ever­y­where in the house, the richly equipped “Flying Libraries” invite guests to be inspired by hiking guides and books on the history and culture of the Nonsberg.

The colour concept creates a con­tem­plative calm throughout the house – in the rooms as well as in the bistro and at reception. Thus the his­to­rical function of the house as a spi­ritual meeting place remains per­cep­tible at every moment – but without any reli­gious con­no­ta­tions. Herein lies the bravura of the owners, who shifted the initially Christian framing of the inn and settled it in a “neutral space”. The spi­ri­tuality of the stag is more a feeling, a mood, an attitude to life. It finds its expression in the joy of culinary delights as well as in the hot stillness of the bio-sauna with its views of the moun­tains. Every guest will expe­rience it dif­fer­ently – and that’s how it should be.

Rituals of leisure

Hil­degard von Bingen, the “herb pastor” Wei­dinger and the phi­lo­sophy of Carlo Petrini’s Slowfood movement go hand in hand in the restaurant Il Cervo and merge into a dance of aromas and a triumph of the senses. To have a meal in the Hir­schen is far more than ” con­suming food “, it is an expe­rience. Eating is a ritual and each culture has its own tra­di­tions to prepare con­sciously for a meal, to sharpen the senses and to sti­mulate the appetite. In the hustle and bustle of everyday life we all too often lose the sense and leisure for con­scious, plea­surably expe­ri­enced food.

In the sleek bistro, almost entirely in white, guests are served an elixir based on a recipe by Hil­degard von Bingen before every meal, a won­derful con­cen­trate of aromas and essences from the forest. A warm, aro­matic herbal wine that auto­ma­ti­cally makes you close your eyes: a pleasant warmth spreads out in your body, you relax, your soul smiles and looks forward to the culinary delights to come.

After the elixir, a bowl of herb butter with homemade bread is served. You can taste cumin, galangal and clove root. A little her­bology and a homage to the simple, good dishes of the former pil­grims’ hostel. Now your stomach is open and you can look forward to what’s to come: on the menu — at any time of the year — there is a culinary poem: The Ode to the Nonsberg.

Chef Erwin whistles cheerfully in the kitchen. Edith and Ingrid pour wine and serve up the next course with a wink, Mirko observes his joyfully gour­mi­nating guests with a fri­endly, open gaze in search of a wish he can read from their eyes even before they become really aware of it. Hos­pi­tality and love go through the stomach — or — quite freely after Hil­degard: “You have the heaven and the earth in you”.

Midwife

In the Hotel Zum Hir­schen clear values and prio­rities become tan­gible, which run like a red thread through the archi­tec­tural and content-related holiday concept of the house: Have time. Focus on the essence. Enjoy thoughtfully. Be active in the free nature. Redis­cover the senses. The moment. Yourself.

In the hotel there is no tele­vision. At night the WiFi is turned off. The big spec­tacle takes place outside in nature. Or deep inside yourself. By no means is it about patro­nizing the guest or imposing a certain life­style on him. It is about creating space for “quiet” expe­ri­ences. And to sharpen the eye again for what we all too easily lose sight of in everyday life.

The house is a midwife. It brings to light desires and needs that lie dormant in us but have no right to exist in “normal life”: Too busy. Too scat­tered. Too tired. The hosts of Zum Hir­schen have suc­ceeded in creating a place that inspires without prea­ching. Where enjoyment is bene­ficial. Where nature awakens the spirits of life and lets the soul sing. Where silence is able to transform the inner noise of thought. To transform into a feeling of serene peace, of deep rela­xation. Of being.