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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.

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.

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

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'.

Villa Runggaldier (Rothaus, Engelsburg)

This turn-of-the-century villa, known as the 'red house', or 'angel's castle' because of its statue of St. Michael, was built by the altar builder and manufacturer Josef Runggaldier, living in the 'Blue House' next door, for his son Josef Jr. and was equipped with its own workshop on the ground floor. It is still used as an atelier today by sculptor Hermann-Josef Runggaldier, a great-grandson of the original constructor.

Villa Grohmann

The turn-of-the-century villa named after Paul Grohmann, the first to climb the Langkofel mountain, was built in 1906 by Konrad Pitscheider de Menza, a sculpture painter and gilder from St. Ulrich, on a plot of land belonging to Pitla Sotria farm. Pitscheider set up one of the most important workshops for the painting of sacred statues and other church decorations at the start of the 20th century on the ground floor. The construction is in its original state and is inhabited.

Villa Rifesser

Villa Rifesser, since 2006 a listed building that was influenced by late Historicism and features a verandah with Jugendstil elements, came about in 1890 thanks to the conversion of the old farmhouse by the altar builder and manufacturer, Josef Rifesser. His son, Josef Jr., carved four wooden busts of figures involved in the Tyrolean Rebellion of 1809 for the bay window. The workshop on the ground floor was used by the sculptor, Pepi Rifesser, a grandson of the builder, until the turn of the century.

Haus Tavella

Haus Tavella bears the name of the renowned sculptor, Franz Tavella, who came from Gadertal valley. He had a two-storey house with its own sculpture workshop built on the ground floor in 1890/91, where lots of young sculptors did their training, including Rudolf Moroder Lenért and Johann Baptist Moroder Lusenberg. In 1905, the sculptor Levije Antone (Luis Anton) Insam from St. Christina bought the house, where his son Luis carried out artistic work and trained young sculptors.