A journey through time

Back in the day

Ratzes is mentioned for the first time in an old document from 1191, on the occasion of a donation by a pious woman named Omenia to the monastery of Novacella near Bressanone. In the winter of 1427, the minstrel Oswald von Wolkenstein wrote a song in which he sang of his lonely days in Hauenstein Castle.
 

The nature baths

In the 16th century numerous thermal baths were built in Tyrol, which used the therapeutic properties of natural springs. In 1722 the surgeon Anton Schedler from Castelrotto decided to use two springs in the narrow valley behind today’s Bad Ratzes: one sulphurous and one ferruginous. This is how the Ratzes Nature Baths (Bagni di Razes) came into being, a central building and a rustic little house with nine beds, several outbuildings and a chapel were built.
 

The guestbook

In 1855 Bad Ratzes started to create a “guest book”, which still exists today and where you can read interesting information about the guests, their origin and length of stay. One of many is the Franciscan Father Vincenz Gredler, professor of natural sciences and discoverer of this geologically interesting area. There was also no lack of “the English”, who are known in the Alps for their passion for daring climbing tours. However, the honour of naming the beautiful peak that dominates the landscape of Bad Ratzes fell to an Austrian: Johann Santner. He was the first one to reach the summit in 1880, which has been called Punta Santner ever since.
 

The mineral springs

The healing springs can be reached from Bad Ratzes. To get to the chalybeate spring, walk from the house via path no. 1 to the Schlernbödele hut. Here you leave the path and descend carefully to the stream bed. To get to the sulphur spring, simply take the path along the brook. After a half-hour walk you have arrived. You will receive further information on site.
 

The future is female

Ludwig Prossliner, the last of the family, who owned Bad Ratzes for a century, died in 1931 without leaving any heirs. The management of the hotel was finally entrusted to his granddaughter Erna, daughter of Eduard Burgauner, a well-known painter, whose frescoed houses can still be admired in Castelrotto.

In 1941 Erna married Richard Scherlin. Four daughters were born: Eva and Waltraud, hoteliers at Bad Ratzes, llse at the Hotel Schwarzer Adler and Claudia at the Natur-Residence Dolomitenhof in Siusi. After their parents’ death, Eva and Waltraud continued their work in the family tradition.

In 1958 it was decided to close down the natural baths, as the facilities were no longer up to date, and in 1962 renovation work began, which lasted until 1970 – or rather, they are still going on. The last importante measures taken by Eva and Waltraud: the covered garage, the innovative playground and the rooms for childcare, the new wing designed to create diversified housing units.

In February 2020 Eva died and her sister Waltraud retired after 50 years in which they both wholeheartedly dedicated their life and soul to hospitality. Niece Petra takes the wheel, the daughter of Ilse Mutschlechner, one of the four sisters.
 

Writing family history

Petra started working with her aunts in 1993. Bad Ratzes has always been her magical place, where she played in and around the hotel as a child and where she taught her children to love this amazing place. It is only natural for Petra and her family to continue an almost hundred-year-old hotel tradition with passion and to look into the future with the enthusiasm of four young men who may one day start a new chapter.