Farm + Hotel = Farmhotel

The ear of grain takes us back to the year 1393, the year of the first known mention of the Moosmair farm by name. As can be seen in one the oldest documents of the parish archives in Taufers, in 1393 the church in the neighboring village received “the levy of one Star rye from the farms Mossmair & Mairhof in Ahernach”. A “Star” was a former grain measure, which corresponded to about 31 liters.

ARISTA

1393

Thanks to a dispute that took place in 1493, we get to know Moosmair Niklas, the farmer at that time. The Moosmair farm had to pay taxes in kind to its landlords at the castle of Taufers, in our case it was the delivery of wood. During one of the deliveries, disputes arose with the owners of the neighboring forests, whereupon Niklas signed a declaration to settle the dispute.

LIGNUM

1493

In 1539 the so called “hunting lodge” contract was written, which regulated the grazing rights of the Moosmair farm in the adjacent Austrian Defreggental. The cows used to be and are still driven to the alpine pastures during the summer months from around mid-May to the end of September. There they can enjoy the fresh mountain grass, while food supplies for the winter months are grown here around the farm.

VENATIO

1539

The oldest original document of the farm dates back to the year 1562 and is called “Weid- & Wunnbrief”. It described the grazing rights at the mountain pastures for each of the farmers from Ahornach. The document was written on brown parchment paper in an old font called “Sütterlin

ALPA

1562

Similar to the farms, also all forests used to belong to the nobles. In 1656, Veit Moosmair, the owner of the farm at that time, made a request to the Tyrolean sovereign for new forest loans because he urgently needed timber for the farm. His request was granted, and after the abolition of the manorial system in 1848, the forest fiefs that were loaned at the time became property of the farm. The borderlines of the forests were marked with crosses carved in stones, which still exist and apply today.

SILVA

1656

With the takeover of the farm by Matthias Eder and his son in 1818, not only the direct family line begins, but also the origin of tourism at the farm. Right away they started by completely rebuilding all of their structures including the residential house, the barn, the alpine hut and even the grain mill. Subsequently, in 1850, the farmhouse was extended by a small tavern, which laid the foundation for today‘s Farmhotel.

TABERNA

1818

During the First World War, it was quite common for women to be left alone with the farm and children. At that time, the Moosmair family had to endure heavy losses because within a very short period of time they lost three sons who were all potential farm successors. The last remaining son, unwilling to take over, gave his sister Katharina the chance to continue the farming business. And so in 1923, after almost 700 years, Katharina was the first woman to take over the farm.

MATER

1923

Due to the flourishing tourism of the post-war period, the expansion of the “Tauferer” railway and the completion of the road to Ahornach in 1969, our grandfather Max and our grandmother Hilda succeeded in modernizing the farm and the guesthouse. Grandma Hilda brought the necessary know-how and the main focus at the Moosmair was increasingly placed on the small guesthouse with its several rooms. The agriculture has continued as a small sideline job.

AVOS

1961

When Helmuth and Anneres took over the family business in 2003, the small guesthouse Moosmair was expanded by adding a wellness area and more rooms. In 2007, the main building was renewed and the Arcana herb restaurant was founded – the very first herb restaurant in South Tyrol. From the farm, or rather its small guesthouse arose our charming mountain hotel.

ARCANA

2007