Hosts Maria, Hermann, and Christoph Mayr about illustrious guests, auspicious gossip, and the perks of being right next to River Isarco, about long-past incidents, and future perspectives around the Goldener Adler in Bressanone.

Historic: The history of the Goldener Adler goes back more than 500 years. Illustrious guests included the likes of Michel de Montaigne, Emperor Maximilian I, and Cosimo de’ Medici. How come?

Maria Mayr
Host at the Hotel Goldener Adler
South Tyrol has always been an area of transit on the way to Rome. The Goldener Adler was a post hotel. The beautiful ground floor vault in the oldest part of the building used to be horse stables. They were surrounded by fields—also known as horse fodder.
Why is the place named after a golden eagle?
Maria Mayr: The eagle is Tyrol’s heraldic animal. Back in the day, numerous houses here carried it in their names. There were Black, Red, and Golden Eagles, the Golden one being the most valuable, of course.

Impressed by the architecture: very special vaults and atriums
How did the hotel end up in your family’s possession?
Maria Mayr: Around 1984, there was talk all over town that the Finsterwirt—the restaurant our family was running—had bought the Goldener Adler. Friends came to congratulate us, only we knew nothing about it. (Laughs.) We asked Elsa Knoflach, who then owned the place, and she said: ‘If I sell, then only to the Finsterwirt.’ She wanted to make sure that whoever bought it would continue running it as a hotel. After all, the house had continuously received guests ever since it was built in 1500.
And so, you bought the Goldener Adler for real…
Hermann Mayr: We didn’t have any guestrooms at the Finsterwirt, so we had sent our guests over to the Goldener Adler anyway—while Elsa Knoflach sent hers to us for their meals. There was active interaction we could take advantage of, and there still is. Elsa Knoflach negotiated a “pension” for herself in the sale contract: She wanted room and board at the hotel for 14 days each year.
She actually came back year after year?
Hermann Mayr: She did. And I personally brought her her food every single day of her stay. She was very modest in her demands. At some point, she moved to her brother’s house in Val Venosta. She only visited two or three times after that.
»We want to go back to our historical roots, to bring out historically interesting details and shed more light on the architecture.«

ADLER Historic Guesthouse
On the waterside promenade of the Isarco river at the entrance to the historic downtown of Bressanone, the venerable ADLER Historic Guesthouse has been hosting guests since the year 1500, as verified by the chronicles.

One question presents itself immediately when entering the house. Why are the reception and the public area of the Goldener Adler on the first floor?
Maria Mayr: There used to be a high risk of flooding in Bressanone, which is why no house in the old town has a cellar. All historic guesthouses run on the first floor. The problem is: People don’t find you these days when you’re not visible on street level. So, we installed the public Café Adler in the former storage room on the ground floor.
Your house is close to the Isarco River. Has the Goldener Adler ever been flooded?
Maria Mayr: The records on the big flood of 1520 say that the ‘Ruepert Halbegg House’ at the ‘Gulden Adler’ was half-overturned. Ruprecht Halbegg was the owner of the Goldener Adler during that time. But luckily, the house itself was never badly damaged. Back then, it directly bordered the Isarco River, the water would go up to the house walls. It was not before the 17th century that they built a riverside road, known today as the Promenade, in the course of a river regulation.
How would you describe the Goldener Adler’s relationship to the river today?
Maria Mayr: We consider ‘living by the river’ as part of our identity. The water has a calming, ruminant effect. Its freshness makes you feel like you are in the middle of nature, while, of course, you are just outside the old town of Bressanone.



Entering this house really makes one marvel.
Maria Mayr: We felt the same way when we first came here, and so do the guests. One steps inside and is immediately impressed by the architecture: Wow, these vaults! It was this first impression that convinced us to buy the Goldener Adler. The atriums are also very special. Back in the day, they were a popular means of letting light into the house. Sometimes, architects drop by to look at the way the atriums were designed.
We heard about the Goldener Adler planning another reconstruction for 2022. Is this another piece of fake news?
Maria Mayr (laughing): No, it’s true. The next generation is about to take over the Goldener Adler and re-emphasise the place’s history by reconstructing in collaboration with architects bergmeisterwolf.
Christoph Mayr: We want to go back to our historical roots, to bring out historically interesting details and shed more light on the architecture. To do so, we must avoid blocking the old masonry with too much furniture. The rooms should have a chance to unfold their effect. For example, we don’t need a red carpet today; the original stone floor beneath it is much more interesting. Also, we would like to reconstruct the old bowfronts and repurpose some of the contorted rooms – as a sauna, for example: a sauna with a vault right next to an atrium, that’s really something special.

ADLER Historic Guesthouse
Via Ponte Aquila 9
39042 Bressanone, South Tyrol
+39 0472 200 621