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"Great is the power of memory that dwells in places." (from Cicero)

Villa Schönblick (later the Hotel Regina, today the Hotel Adler Balance)

In 1907, altar-maker Josef Höglinger had the Villa Schönblick built beneath the Plajes Hof farm. The villa housed a workshop, rooms for visiting artisans, and a small guesthouse.

In 1926, additional rooms were built in an annex; Höglinger also relocated his workshop to the new premises, replacing its predecessor with a dining room. The Villa Schönblick thus became the Hotel Regina, run by the Höglinger family until its sale and demolition in 2008, after which it was replaced by the Hotel Adler Balance. 

Marienheim (now the Hotel Maria)

Although the house and workshop which art distributor Franz Schmalzl de Ianesc built on Antonibo-den in 1872/73 was unassuming in size and nature, by the turn of the century the Marienheim had grown to become the third-largest hotel in St. Ulrich— complete with a swimming pool and a dining room which occupied an entire floor.

Ustaria dl Baga (today the Hotel Gardena Grödnerhof)

The development of Gröden all began with the Ustaria dl Baga, now the Grödnerhof. In 1911, sculptor Ferdinand Perathoner (dl Baga) built a villa complete with workshop on one of the meadows of the Vidlonch farm and, just two years later, added a coffee house for aristocratic spa guests.

In the early 1920s, the Demetz-Bernardi family purchased the property and, in the years to follow, the neighbouring “Schattenheim.” The buildings were united, and, over the years, the modest guesthouse transformed to become the five-star Relais & Châteaux Hotel.

Villa Margherita

Stufan farm site (today Villa Margherita) is considered to be one of the oldest recorded settlement sites in St. Ulrich. The altar builder and manufacturer, Josef Rifesser Sr., built the twin farmhouses in 1872 and, in 1882, converted them into an art school for church interior decorations with its own sculpture and carpentry workshop. The business was one of the largest altar-building workshops in St. Ulrich around 1900.  His son, Josef Jr. (bera Sepl da Stufan), carried on with the company and opened a branch at the railway station in Brixen.

Haus Plan de Mureda

Plandemureda was built in 1834 by Jan Matie Moroder da Scurcià, a trader of fashion accessories living in Ancona, as a summer house. Starting in 1869, his sons, Alois and Franz, exported wooden toys to the whole of Europe under the name of 'Gebrüder Moroder'. There was a small warehouse (today 'Pension Sole') next door where producers delivered their wares. St. Ulrich primary school now occupies the spot behind the building where the 1849-built stable used to stand.

Haus Bugon

After the 1830s, Haus Bugon was the seat of 'Insam & Prinoth', one of the largest pre-First World War toy manufacturers in Gröden. The company had a branch in Nuremberg in 1820 and, later on, one in London. There was a large warehouse as well as the manufacturing premises with offices and packaging workshop housed in a stable and the goods were transported from there to the point connecting up with the railway network.

Purger's packaging house

The former stable at Panahof farm was extended by Johann Baptist Purger in 1854 for the purpose of packaging toys and, at a later date, altars, for export. A bridge over the Annabach stream was built at the same time to ease transport by sledge. Today, the packaging house is home to an eatery with a western façade consisting of porphyry stone blocks like the bridge, while its foundations are made of solid Gröden sandstone.

This site is part of the tour "St. Ulrich: a stroll through the village centre and its history".

Haus Purger (cultural centre)

On the spot of the cultural centre there was once a multi-storey building constructed in 1854 in urban style by the manufacturer, Johann Baptist Purger, along with some council offices and doctor's surgery. It also served as a temporary warehouse for the toy manufacturer Anton Sotriffer. Both buildings influenced the character of Kirchplatz, until, in 1969, they had to make way for a congress hall for the 1970 Winter Olympics built at the turn of the century and bearing the name 'Kulturhaus Luis Trenker'.

Haus Pana

Johann Baptist Purger started living in Haus Pana in 1832. He had the new road from Gröden to Waidbruck constructed in 1856, which played a significant role in the valley's economic boom. The building is on the original site of a farm at Kirchplatz that dates back in records to the 11th century and used to belong to the Lords of Freising. Its present appearance is an extension carried out in 1908 in the historical turn-of-the-century villa style.