back

The Hospiz and its chapel were built in 1386 by Henry the foundling from Kempten. He was a swineherd at Ahrlen Castle in St. Jacob, and he was horrified that so many poor souls died in snowstorms on their journey over the Arlberg. He asked Duke Leopold III of Austria for the land and it was given to him in 1385. Pope Boniface I granted him the right to found the Brotherhood of St. Christoph and he travelled throughout Europe to collect money for the hostel.
 
In the very first winter, Henry and his faithful monks were able to save 7 people from certain death in the snow. Every evening Henry wandered through St. Christoph and called loudly to see if anyone required help. Anyone found was taken in and given soup and wine to rebuild their strength. Since then the Hospiz has had a turbulent history. At the beginning of this century this venerable institution was falling into ruins. Arnold Ganahl, the later owner of the Hospiz, where the Vorarlberg Provincial Committee for the Preservation of Historical Monuments was housed, finally had the Hospiz put under protection as an historical monument. A caretaker was hired to look after the building, which had been inhabited primarily by gypsies and vagabonds up to that point.
 
In 1954 Arnold Ganahl then bought the building. He sent the employees of his spinning factories to the Arlberg for rest and relaxation - skiing was just beginning to catch on at that time. When the building burned down on the night of January 6, 1957, he rebuilt it as the first five-star hotel on the Arlberg, with showers and WCs in every room. Arnold Ganahl's daughter Gerda took over the management of the hotel in 1961. In 1964 she married Adolf Werner, and together they created the beautiful hotel located in the centre of St. Christoph.
 
In 1997 Florian Werner took over from his father as the 33rd owner of the Hospiz Hotel. On January 3, 1901, the Skiclub Arlberg was founded within the solid walls of the Hospiz.

A Timetravel through the Arlberg Hospiz