Your Hotel on the Stelvio with a long History

The History of the

Franzenshöhe Berghotel

The history of the Berghotel Franzenshöhe on the Stelvio Pass is unmistakably related to the history of Stelvio road,  built from 1820 to 1825 under the direction of Carlo Donegani.

At that time, the place on which the Franzenshöhe stands was known as the "Bödele" and served for the construction company Del Bosco as a storage place for the wood.

Johann Josef Wallnöfer, Karin's great-great-grandfather, set up business the Franzenshöhe in 1871 so that guests can be entertained. After his death in 1881 his wife Amalia Wallnöfer, postmaster from Prad and mother of 5 children, concluded a 10-year lease with the K.K. Straßenärar for the Franzenshöhe from. An exciting time begins for the family ...

The beginning of an Era: the wallnöfer family at the franzenshöhe

Rough times, wars and avalanches at the Franzenshöhe

The Franzenshöhe was first destroyed in 1848, during the Austrian Revolution and the Italian Risorgimento Wars. The Rotter, as the street workers were then called, set all the galleries of Stelvio Pass and the building  of Franzenshöhe on fire.

A few years later, when the situation calmed down, the Franzenshöhe was restored.

Giovanni Donegani the engineer of the Stelvio Pass road, the son of the engineer Carlo Donegani, was of the opinion that the place on which the Franzenshöhe stands, is far away from any avalanche danger. But he should be proven wrong. ...