We are an association of distinguished historic hotels and inns in South Tyrol. We are ambassadorsof timeless hospitality.

Historic: The history of your place begins at a time when no funicular service was going up to Colle from Bolzano. What defined this location back then, what does so now?

In the late 19^th century, travel journalist Heinrich Noë wrote that the reason city dwellers were coming up here was ‘to refresh themselves with a drink to recover from the dishwater one gets in the city during the summer.’

Mozart is said to have made his own dirty jokes about disgusting Bolzano. (Laughs.) But it’s true, the air and water quality here on the Colle Mountain has always been fantastic. There even used to be a small bath, the Isidor. To this day, our natural spring water is bottled, fresh, every day. Fresh air is brought in by the Ora, the Lake Garda wind, every evening between six and eight.

What were the summer holidays like around the turn of the century?

The men would be at work, even in the summer. And the women, including maids, would take their whole kit and caboodle and go on a summer retreat. In the evenings, they would be in contact with the men in the valley. While they already had a telegraph station in Colle dei Signori, one of the first in South Tyrol, the conversation would mostly be via previously agreed-upon light signals. Some of the fathers would visit over the weekends.

This place had some celebrity guests. They came from Bolzano, of course, but also from Vienna and other big European cities. Unfortunately, our old guestbook is nowhere to be found in the house. I’ve been looking for it all my life. I’d like to start a call for it.

Consider the call started!

Now, compared to other summer retreats, Colle seems fairly quiet.

There’s a building freeze up here. We almost exclusively have turn-of-the-century buildings, such as the Villa Bittner¾an excellent example of playful, alpine art nouveau.

There have been plans to do all kinds of things in Colle over the past few decades: from an alpine zoo to botanical gardens, to another funicular that would start in Bolzano, go up the Virgolo clifftop, and end here. Thank God none of those happened. I like Colle the way it is.

You like to preserve what once was?

I endorse the funicular staying as well as the road that leads up here. Colle needs cautious development, not mega-projects.

What are the origins of this place?

A mansion that a certain Mr. Baumgartner, who owned a sawmill down by the Talvera River, had made as part of an ‘Ansitz’ with a church. In 1899, Josef Staffler bought the building and repurposed it as a high-altitude inn.

Building a road that leads here was too expensive. So, Staffler tried to officially expand the existing cargo funicular to allow passenger transportation. However, the railway ministry in Vienna, which had jurisdiction, absolutely refused to allow it. They feared the competition with the railway. It took eight years to get the permission. In the meantime, of course, people had already started to come up in the cargo cars.

Is it true that this funicular supplied the forest workers with flying dumplings?

Well, the funicular brought the workers their food. And when it passed the buttresses, that gave the freight a good shake, which might have caused the odd dumpling to accidentally fly out, right into the workers’ mouths, like in the land of milk and honey. (Laughs.)

When the passenger funicular was introduced in 1908, the success was huge.

It was the 29^th of June. People were queuing up to come up here. The ride was a good half hour back then¾few passengers, only one cabin. And still, this line brought Colle more people in its early years than the current one. The building’s history is closely connected to that of the funicular. It’s all about the funicular.

The 29^th of June is an important day in your history…

It was the day when the summer holidays used to begin. They ended in early September and that was it for the year. June 29^th is also the date when the funicular was inaugurated in 1908 and when this place opened in 1966. And it’s my mother’s name day. (Smirks.)

Some say Colle has remained so quiet because it is located on the shady side of the mountain.

That’s not entirely true. The so-called sunny side of Bolzano, San Genesio Atesino, has fewer hours of sunlight than Colle. I will back this up with a detailed study once I’m retired. (Laughs.) I like to keep the old rivalry between Renon, Colle, and San Genesio Atesino. (Laughs.)

Back to your place, the Gasthof Kohlern: You have been working with Zeno Bampi for some time and more recently with Christina Biasi von Berg.

I stumbled upon architect Zeno Bampi when I was still young, because he is really the person to go to when it comes to old buildings. Zeno refers to himself as a mediator between generations. And that’s what he was here in 1993 when I took over the guesthouse. We did the four new retreats with Christina Biasi von Berg. It was not easy to get this annexe to our historic structure approved and then implemented.

When did the building enter into your family’s possession?

The house had been vacant for decades. Children used to play there, the windows were broken. When my father bought it for 26 million lire in 1965, it was more of a ruin than anything else. It took almost a year¾and another 26 million¾to rebuild. My mother told me that in the early years, people would only come to watch.

And did those early visitors catch the Colle virus?

It is highly incurable¾and very contagious. (Laughs.) The incubation period is a few days, though: On day one, guests tend to be slightly confused, but the virus slowly starts to unfold its effect on day two, and by day three, you are hopelessly infected. It’s even quicker when you come back.

Which is nice since it’s the kind of virus you want to catch. Does a short journey help?

Time is our greatest luxury. When I lose a lot of time in going somewhere, any other luxury is almost worthless. Everything is about time. Time, time, time. So, treat yourselves to two months of summer relaxation, like in the olden days. Cavolo! Can you believe we once had that much time in the summer?