Once upon a time … that is how fairy tales are told, and that is also the beginning of the story of the Hotel Das Rübezahl.

Hildegard and Herbert Thurm were refugees from the Giant Mountains in Silesia. Their first point of call after fleeing was the Ruhr area. When they noticed that they would not be able to settle there, they decided to start anew in the Allgäu. In 1959, Hildegard and Herbert opened a small inn with guest rooms where today’s hotel is situated. The season was very short, which was a great challenge. The distrustful locals did not make it easy for the two and did not believe in their success.

With a lot of courage and optimism and the belief in progress and modern comfort, over the years they managed to become the first guesthouse with warm water in the rooms. In the further course they installed showers, there were TV sets. It was all a small sensation in the early 1960s. The entire family pitched in, the son Erhard Thurm was sent to secondary school and graduated from a chef’s apprenticeship and hotel management school.

“In the end, my goal was to prove my parents that they had put their money on the right horse,” says Erhard Thurm. “ Sometimes it’s like that: The less you have, the more you try.”

The Brazilian in the Allgäu

Giselle Gorian Teixeira, the Brazilian figure skating champion from 1984/85, came to the Allgäu to train for the Olympics with the best coaches and training conditions. The apartment and training were provided by the German skating federation, she had to finance her life herself, and so she sold souvenirs during the day and in the evening she worked at the Rübezahl. There she met the young chef Erhard, for whom it was love at first sight. Following months of peeling potatoes, Giselle finally heard him out, and they became a couple. They were married in 1990 and their son Alexander was born five years later. Being a hotelier was something he was born into, having spent his early days as a toddler in a playpen at the back of the reception desk. He later studied hotel management and has worked in some of the best hotels in Europe. Franziska, his sister, made it into the top ten in Germany as a cross-country skier and then also studied hotel management. The brother Stefan decided for gardening and against the hotel, and he is happy with it.

The hotel is enlarged

Erhard and Giselle expanded the Rübezahl to 115 beds in the 1990s and added the country house. The State of Bavaria became involved with a silent partnership. The guesthouse became a restaurant and the sauna with solarium a small spa. From 2000, more extensive renovations took place. Since October 2017, the gourmet restaurant Gams & Gloria has been reaching for the culinary stars. Fairy tales really do come true sometimes

The facts about Das Rübezahl : The location and the hotel

You can find the hotel in Schwangau near Füssen, also known as the land of mountains, castles, and lakes. It is located vis-à-vis the famous royal castle Neuschwanstein. The boutique hotel features 54 deluxe rooms and design suites, a spacious spa area for maximum relaxation, and you can choose where to eat—two restaurants spoil you with culinary delights.

Vacation without regret

The host family is committed to a sustainable concept. Thus, only natural and local materials are used, the focus is on a respectful cooperation with employees and suppliers and green power supply.

As of 2021, 90% of the power requirements are generated by photovoltaics or a modern combined heat and power plant.

The Wellness Garden also hosts a special flower and herb meadow to provide space for endangered species. Natural cycle and indigenous flora and fauna are also a focus in the two hotel restaurants. For both the Louis II restaurant, with its healthy and light cuisine, and the star-awarded Gams & Gloria, ingredients are sourced from regional producers wherever possible and the choice of dishes is seasonal.

Guests of Das Rübezahl can spend their vacation in a CO2-neutral way by offsetting their personal carbon footprint through a reforestation project

Have we whetted your appetite for a vacation at Das Rübezahl, or have you already been there? We are excited about your feedback. And if you want to save the hotel for a later trip, simply pin it to your Pinterest boards.