The beginnings of the Neubergerhof, the Bachergut farm estate and the life of the Reiter family
Our place since 1914
The Bacherhof has been owned by the Reiter family since 1914. The slogan “Back to Nature” was back then far from being invented. Grandma Eva and Grandpa Sepp Reiter would never have turned their backs on the meadows, Alpine pastures and mountains anyway. In 1962, these two opened a snack stop on the farm for guests from Filzmoos.
At the beginning of the 60's, the decision was made to build an Inn and already in 1965 the foundation stone for today's Neubergerhof was laid. Along with the size of the family, the Neubergerhof also grew into a comfortable four-star hotel. In 2009, the Neubergerhof was largely renovated and expanded, thus fitting to modern standards. The traditional roots are however still palpable. And that should remain the case.
The timeline
Once upon a time, as our chronicle could begin, the foundation stone for the Neubergerhof was laid in the old Bacherhof at the end of the fifties and early sixties. The Bacherhof was an old farmhouse with the adjacent stable building, which still stands today.
The small farm was managed by our grandparents Eva and Josef Reiter. The income from it was not enough for their daily life, and so Grandfather worked as a lumberjack to secure his family's livelihood. Grandmother managed the household and agriculture.
The Bacherhof becomes an excursion destination, a snack stop
Even before the Bacherhof, the then emerging tourism was ongoing.
Over the years, the rooms were renovated, equipped with water and heating and rented out to guests. In winter, the Bacherhof was a popular excursion destination for the horse-drawn sleighs from Filzmoos. Thus in 1962, in addition to renting out the rooms, a snack stop was opened, which was popular with both locals and holidaymakers alike.
Soon the space in the parlour was no longer enough and the parents came up with the idea of building an Inn next to it.
First large construction in 1965 - the birth of the Neubergerhof
In 1965, the plan was put into practice and the construction of the Gasthof Neubergerhof began.
At that time, it was real comfort to have bathrooms and toilets on each floor. It was a risky business to build an Inn of this size and facilities in the remote Neuberg.
Time changed very quickly back then and it was extended again in 1973. The central section was created with comfort rooms upstairs, a restaurant on the ground floor and in the basement it was already planned to have an indoor pool installed.
The years 1979 to 1989.
And once again, construction.
In order to offer guests modern comfort, a large-scale expansion was done in 1979 and another guest wing with 18 rooms was built. During this time, the indoor swimming pool, sauna and reception were also added. In the 1980/81 winter season, the new part of the hotel was opened.
The old Bacherhof served its purpose and still housed guests until the summer of 1984. But then the question arose as to what to do with it. Outwardly it was a beautiful old farm, but inside it was no longer fit for purpose. So, in the spring of 1986, with a heavy heart it was taken down. In December 1988, the construction of the new Bacherhof was completed, in which four holiday apartments were located. As a result of the larger number of guests, the restaurant turned out to be too small and in the autumn of 1989 the extension and rebuild of the restaurant was carried out.
Thank you Grandma! Thank you Grandpa!
The development of the Neubergerhof to date would not have been possible if our grandparents had not laid the foundations under the most difficult conditions and with a great deal of hard work and commitment. Then our parents would not have had the courage to continue this large gastronomy business and would not have had such a great deal of cohesion and cooperation within the family.
More about life on the farm in the former times and what everyday life looked like is told by Grandma Evi herself tells in the section - “Grandma Reiter explains”.
1993 - sons Martin and Sepp take over the Neubergerhof
And their wives would become the good souls of the hotel.
In 1993, our grandparents transferred the hotel and the farm with agriculture to their sons Martin and Sepp, our father and our uncle. The two dedicated men looked forward to the new challenge and thought early on what direction and what core services would be interesting for the guests in the back-end of Neuberg.
Their two wives, our mum Maria and Aunt Herta, also took their place in the hotel and have been leading the team in the background ever since. And there is one thing they are for sure - the hotel’s good souls who always have a charming smile on their lips, and are the calming influence to bring their men back down to earth should their male “building instinct” go a little too far.
The Neubergerhof becomes a family hotel
From the family, for the family!
Due to the location and what was already on offer, we decided to focus more on families with children, especially in the summer. In spring 1996, the WASTL Adventure Camp was created - a small Indian village in the middle of the forest where the children (and also the big kids) have fun and experience the greatest adventures as part of the daycare in the WASTL kid’s club.
The success of this justified our decision and due to the slight shift in guests, the demand for more family-friendly rooms increased. So, it came time to rebuild again and in the record time of almost 11 weeks in the spring of 2000 the middle part of the Neubergerhof was increased by one floor and new family accommodations were built. In the course of this process, the façade was also renovated and the exterior was redesigned.
In autumn 2002, a modern, computer-controlled biomass heating system was built in the rear part of the garage building, which supplies the Neubergerhof and the Bacherhof with heat. Wood chips, which are an extremely environmentally friendly and renewable energy source from the local region, serve as heating material. The wood chips are stored in two underground silos with a total capacity of 360m3.
The great rebuild 2009.
A big step for the future was taken in summer 2009 with the extension and renovation of the Neubergerhof.
The extension included the construction of a spacious reception and reception area with day bar, panorama restaurant, “feel-good oasis” for spa & beauty, the WASTL Arena – a 350m² children's area on two floors with 6 metre high climbing wall, along with 17 family rooms with plenty of comfort and wonderful panoramic views into the valley.
The 1965 part of the building was completely renovated and brought up to a modern standard.
A lot has happened in the outdoor area as well - the 3D archery course and a new playground are now part of the outdoor facilities at the Neubergerhof.
Since then, we have been running the business very successfully. Guests feel very comfortable in the new, modern ambience, which, despite its size, delivers a family atmosphere.
2019 - Sepp and Herta a retire
Thanks for everything!
In 2019, it was time for Herta and Sepp to say hello to their well-deserved retirement. They withdrew from the operational business and left the management to the younger Reiters. Herta still helps from time to time in accounting and financial matters, while Uncle Sepp takes care of his 6 grandchildren.
You can meet them when E-biking on the Aualm or hiking on the Sulzkaralm. Cooking, keeping fish, housework, cooking and baking, cosy evenings in front of the TV or breakfast on the sun terrace in one’s own house - this is now the everyday life that Aunt Herta and Uncle Seppi have really deserved. They now enjoy their spare time together and we wish them health and all the best.
Thank you for your work, your sweat and the years in which you have paved the way for us!
Martin and Maria still swing the cooking spoon
Thank you for your support.
Martin and Maria are still actively supporting us, especially in the kitchen. Maria, for example, serves the wonderful pastries and especially her well-known Quark Strudel, when she is not out in the garden or taking care of the lovely flowers all around the house. Martin still works in the kitchen as nothing can take away his passion for cooking. He takes care of the meat, especially the fine ox meat from his own farm. The work on the farm and the housework goes hand in hand with Martin Jr.
Our parents let us take the lead, but are always there for us when we need advice and want to draw on our parents’ years of experience. We are pleased that they are at our side with advice and help, and we are sure that this will continue to be the case for many years to come.
The young Reiter's
We love and live being hosts and put this into practice every day.
Now it is up to us, Martin and Manu, Alexandra and Lars and Geli, to continue to live our parents’ and grandparents’ philosophy and to continue to make our guests happy. As such, we young Reiters also carry the Neubergerhof credo “Simply be content” in our hearts.
We hope that we too have the courage and perseverance to successfully continue to run the Neubergerhof. Because we would like to put additional plans into practice in the future, so that guests continue to feel comfortable here with us.
But with our family cohesion and with the help and experience that we have already gathered ourselves and which our predecessors have passed on to us, we are looking forward to the challenges that await us and to many unforgettable holiday moments with our guests.
In 2022 our main building was renovated
A construction project that had been planned for years was finally completed.
For more than 40 years, our old main house rooms have accommodated many guests. Lots of beautiful memories connect our regular guests and us too, with the old part of the Neubergerhof.
But it was finally time to look to the future and start a construction project that had been planned for years. We renovated and modernised the main part of the hotel. New double and family rooms were created to feel good and relax with modern levels of comfort.
We not only renovated the rooms in the main building, but also the staircase, the youth’s room and fitness room were modernized and brought up-to-date. Everything has been upgraded to a higher standard, made more comfortable and holistically adapted to the 4-star level.
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