The History

Between 1879 and 1884 the Arlberg Tunnel (for a long time the longest railway tunnel in the world) was built with the help of several thousand workers. Otto von Hochbrunn an der Lan bought the house and extensively renovated and furnished it to attract the foremen and senior heads of the Arlberg railway construction site to stay as guests. At that time there was a lot of activity all year round in St. Anton, however, the Landhaus, which was then called the Hotel Arlberg-Tunnel, could never really gain a foothold and so Otto had to sell again in 1883.

Albert Murr Senior, after which the house is named, was able to buy half of the current Landhaus.

A butchery was opened in the Landhaus and with it a shop, which was located in the room where today’s breakfast is served (the Stube). Further branches followed in Langen and Klösterle, but these were closed again in the 1940s.

The second half of today’s property was acquired by the Traxl family. The Traxl family moved into the Margariten-Hof. Today this house is opposite the Landhaus.

During the first world war, Albert Murr Senior was first stationed in Poland, but then became a Russian prisoner of war and so his wife Johanna had to manage the company’s fortunes. She even had to work in the butchery, as many butchers were called up for military service. Under her leadership the house number 39 was bought, which is today’s Murrmel Bar and Apartments.

House number 39, once a horse stable and former police station, was bought in 1928 in a dilapidated state and had to be rebuilt. As one of the first “small guest houses” in St. Anton, the house was equipped with electricity and running cold and warm water. Standard today, but it was a luxury at the time. The butcher’s shop was also moved from the Landhaus to number 39.

Space in the Landhaus was getting tight. The family had grown too big for the old house with 7 children, workers from the butchery and servants and so the conversion to a multi-family house was planned and implemented together with the Bauhaus architect Hans Fessler. Although a lot has changed inside the building over the years, the shape of the house has remained the same since then.

Franz & Fritzi Murr took over the management of the business and the children Albert Junior, Franz & Wolfgang were born during this time. Albert Murr Junior was later to take over the butchery, son Franz found happiness in the distance and Wolfgang, as a well-traveled chef and connaisseur, also followed his vocation in his homeland. A photo of the three sons hangs in the Stube today. The Stube, is the only part of the original house that has survived almost untouched by the ages, a photo of the orignal Stube can also be found on the wall. Above the door, the wood is engraved with the year1909, this is the year in which the room was furnished.

The Landhaus was planned as a multi-family house and so the youngest daughter of Albert Murr Senior, Bertel Schalle and her 2 daughters lived in the house for a while. However, it was only used as an apartment building for a very short time and so it was gradually converted into a bed and breakfast at the beginning of the 1960s. The Schalle family then moved into Villa Schalle, which is today known as Hotel Bergschlössl & Basecamp.

The premises at the back of the house have been renewed and expanded in several renovation steps. The former barn and hay store became part of the butcher’s shop and apartments for the staff of the butchery were created. This is where the laundry room is located today, as well as rooms 5-9, 10-13 and 17 & 18. Today, the big red staircase commemorates this phase of rennovations. The infrastructure of the former butchery, which closed in 2011, are still on the ground floor of the house to this day.

The butcher’s shop moved across the street into the Supermarket and stayed there until it closed in 2009.

Following the move of the Butcher´s shop into the supermarket, the premises of today´s Murrmel bar (house number 39) were once again empty. This made way for a series of new and varying tennants which over time have included Sport Pangratz, the Velention cafe bar, a perfumery, a massage studio and most recently the Art Box gallery.

House number 39 was renamed Villa Murr and the top floors were rennovated to house several large apartments. At the time the requests for bed and breakfast accommodation in the area were low and so this rennovation fulfilled the new demand for self catered accommodation.

After an eventful 107 years, the family run butchery closes it´s doors for the final time. The market conditions had changed, the yields had fallen over the years and the central location no longer proved to be financially beneficial to the family business. But when one door closes, another door opens and so the Murrmel Bar was built and opened in 2011.

Constant change has always been part of our DNA and we are always looking for ways to improve our guest experience through regular rennovations and business developments…we are convinced this is why our guests come back year after year!