Come celebrate our 125 years old history, tradition and hospitality
Welcome to the historic Hotel am Pragser Wildsee. The picturesque property on the banks of what is probably the most beautiful Alpine lake has been a meeting place since 1899.
Tradition, elegance and hospitality have been our hallmarks for the past 125 years. Over the upcoming months, we invite you to join us on a journey through the past and into the future. Discover how culture and hospitality can be combined.
ANNIVERSARY EVENTS
125 years of Hotel Pragser Wildsee. One of the many milestones in the hotel's history. With art, music and many encounters, we focus on the rich tradition of the hotel, which has always fascinated and attracted visitors from all over the world. Music and culture have always had a special place at Hotel Pragser Wildsee, and history is an integral part of our hotel. These are our roots.
Drawing against forgetting
3 May - 9 June 2024
It is not an easy subject, but all the more important: the series of works "Drawing Against Oblivion" by Austrian artist Manfred Bockelmann shows charcoal portraits of children and young people who were victims of Nazi terror. With this series, Bockelmann wanted to "bring the children back from the darkness". He succeeds in a haunting way. The exhibition takes place in the building of "Emmas Bistro" and is the first in a series of events marking the anniversary. Well worth seeing!
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OPENING, on 03.05.2024 at 16.00 o'clock
04 - 05.05.2024 = 10.00-17.00 hrs
10.05.2024 = 14 - 17.00 hrs || 11 and 12.05.2024 = 10 - 17.00 hrs
17.05.2024 = 2 - 5 p.m. || 18 and 19.05.2024 = 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
24.05.2024 = 2 - 5.00 pm || 25 and 26.05.2024 = 10 - 5.00 pm
31.05.2024 = 2 - 5.00 pm || 01. and 02.06.2024 = 10 - 5.00 pm
07.06.2024 = 2 - 5 p.m. || 08 and 09.06.2024 = 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Colours Jazz Orchestra
9 July 2024 || Open air || 6.00 pm || Buffet
Music of the moment - that's how jazz is often described. What could be more appropriate for an anniversary concert than a musical style that celebrates the moment? For the 125th anniversary opening concert, the well-known “Colours Jazz Orchestra” will make sure that even the lake’s water will dance listening to pieces by the composer Roberto Livraghi.
This big band from the Marche region plays contemporary and innovative music without forgetting the roots of jazz. That suits us well as we at the Hotel Pragser Wildsee look into the past and also in the future.
Heidi's balcony || Film screening
2 August 2024 || 5.30 pm
It is not a given that a hotel stays in the family for over 125 years. For the Heiss family, this is both a mission and an incentive: In the documentary "Il balcone di Heidi" by Michelangelo Gratton, Heidi and Caroline Heiss talk about the place that is so important to the family. They reveal the changes they have experienced, what the history of the house has to do with a balcony and how they want to take it into the next era. They have been asked what is most important to them and their answer was "To keep its charm and character". The film is in Italian with English subtitles.
Marta Giulioni & Colours Collective || Concert
24 August 2024 || 6 pm
When Marta Giulioni smoky voice fills the room with her singing, the jazz heart trembles. When the Colours Collective and their creative soloists come into the picture, a musical climax is guaranteed. The concert can be enjoyed and admired at Emma's Bistro on the shores of the Pragser Wildsee.
Open Air || Symphonic Cinema
7 September 2024 || Open air
Buffet 5.30 pm || Concert starts 7.30 pm
A combination of cinema and live music: This is the grand concept of Symphonic Cinema. Filmmaker Lucas van Woerkum, himself a horn player, tells the story of Gustav Mahler, his wife Alma and their young daughter Maria, from their respective perspectives. Life, death and the consequences: The film deals with the great themes of humanity. The music for the film, which was largely shot on Pragser Wildsee, is performed precisely in this setting to the live music of the Orchestra Filarmonica Marchigiana on the lake.
The story of Gustav Mahler, who spent important periods of his international career in Pustertal, the sounds of the orchestra, the mountains reflected in the water together make for a very great performance.
Contemporary History Conference
17 and 18 October 2024
Two days that reflect contemporary history: Der Förderverein des Zeitgeschichte-Archivs Pragser Wildsee (the Friends’ Association of the Archive of Contemporary History at Pragser Wildsee) has always encouraged dialogue between historians, cultural workers and the interested public. The 9th event is dedicated to the biographies of SS prisoners. They came from 18 countries and were deported from Dachau concentration camp to Niederdorf in 1945 as a kind of bargaining chip in negotiations with the Allies. They were liberated by the German Wehrmacht on 30 April in 1945. This is where the Hotel Pragser Wildsee came into play, as they were accommodated there for ten days and looked after by their hostess, Emma Heiss Hellensteiner. The conference will focus on their sometimes very different biographies and their relationship to the totalitarian regimes of the time. As well as discussing the topic, the conference will also focus on the specific work on the biographies, which will be taught in a workshop.
Thanks to our Sponsors
We Are Your Hosts. Get to Know Us a Bit.
Caroline Heiss was in the Swiss banking business and controlling is her strong suit. Her life partner Jens Kappel is a lawyer. Together they run the hotel with a team of 70 employees. Not because they have to but because they want to. A detour was necessary for this to happen though. Caroline grew up in the hotel and at a boarding school. She had a strict upbringing, knew what etiquette demanded; as a child, she had to change her clothes three times a day to show off excellence in the hotel. She was 23 when her father died and her mother Heidi Bürgisser continued to run the hotel. Caroline and her brother were given some time to think. Time to make a plan to preserve and modernize a hotel that seemed to have fallen behind the times.
Caroline is aware of her responsibility: "What I change today, my son will have to manage in the future."
Five Spots Sharing Our History
How do you make sure that a hotel makes it through decades and hardships? By keeping the hotel’s milestones and family history in mind.