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Saltauserhof
Saltaus, Italy · Independent · Accessible Luxury
One of the Passeier valley's Schildhoefe, the fortified farms whose owners King Henry raised to minor nobility in 1317 with the right to hunt, fish and carry a shield and halberd. The crenellated house guarded the valley road as a customs post for the Counts of Tyrol, and Andreas Hofer used it as a hiding place during the Tyrolean risings against Bavaria. The Pircher family bought it in 1936 and kept the low vaults, the panelled parlours and the old wine cellar, adding 57 rooms across three houses, two clay courts and a saltwater pool.
- 57 rooms
About Saltauserhof
- First recorded in 1230 as a customs station for the Counts of Tyrol, the Saltauserhof is the oldest estate of its kind in the Passeier valley.
- Andreas Hofer, the innkeeper who led the Tyrolean revolt against Bavarian rule, used the house as a hideout and a place to plan with his allies.
- The Pircher family has held it since 1936, and the hotel was a founding member of the Passeier-Merano golf club, which still guarantees its guests tee times.
History
The Saltauserhof is a Schildhof, one of a network of fortified farmsteads that once held the Passeier valley for the Counts of Tyrol. This one served as a customs station on the valley road and is first recorded in 1230; the hotel's own account pushes the first mention back to the eleventh century and calls it the oldest estate of its kind in the valley. In 1317 King Henry raised a group of Passeier farmers to minor nobility as Schildhoefler in return for military service, with the right to govern their own farms, to hunt and fish, and to carry the shield and halberd that gave them their name. The crenellated house was a social and political centre as much as a defensive one, and at the start of the nineteenth century Andreas Hofer and his allies used it as a hiding place and a meeting room while planning the Tyrolean resistance to Bavarian rule.
The Pircher family bought the Schildhof in 1936 and have run it since, restoring the vaulted parlours, the thick stone walls, the stuccoed ceilings and the historic wine cellar without smoothing them out. A modern residence wing and the Panorama apartments were added alongside the old house, bringing the three buildings to 57 rooms, suites and apartments. Guests get the Spa Alma with an eleven by seven metre saltwater indoor pool and a sixteen by nine metre outdoor pool, two clay tennis courts, and a wine cellar with its own vinotheque and weekly tastings.
The setting
Saltaus stands at the mouth of the Passeier valley, still inside the Merano basin; the name comes from the Latin saltus, a gorge. Three historic Waalwege, the irrigation-channel footpaths of South Tyrol, start nearby: the Maiser Waalweg runs through orchards and woods all the way down to Merano, the Riffianer looks back up the Passeier, and the Schenner passes vineyards. The eighteen-hole Passeier-Merano golf course and the Merano thermal baths are both partner attractions within easy reach.
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