The foundation for Terra - The Magic Place, which is a member of the global Relais & Châteaux network, was laid by a certain Johann Brugger, who was the grandfather of Heinrich and Gisela.
Johann Brugger inherited a small and simple Alpine hut not far from the hotel’s current location. Lovingly nicknamed “Tatte” by his grandchildren, Brugger was a modern and open-minded man. He turned his hut into a popular inn called the “Alpenrose,” which had its very own bowling alley. But Brugger was just getting started. Always striving for bigger and better things, he became involved in the timber trade. Back then it was extremely difficult to get around, as there were no roads or trails.
Johann Brugger was way ahead of his time. He preferred to wear modern clothes like the mountain climbers instead of the traditional garb of the neighboring farmers. A savvy timber salesman, he built the Sarner Ski Hut in 1940. The Sarner Ski Hut “ski area” consisted of one long valley run which crossed the Auen meadows and ended in the village. In those days, ski trails were still laboriously trodden by foot. Tatte had a passion for skiing and longed for his oldest daughter Resi, our mother, to become a ski star. Unfortunately, however, this was not to be. Active in the timber trade, Tatte sold wood and wooden water pipes, and invested all his profits with the utmost in care. Resi helped out whenever she could in the ski hut. It was there, incidentally, that she met our father. Our father loved the mountains. Like Tatte, he was an avid skier. He went on numerous ski tours, including the infamous “Haute Route” from Mont Blanc to Monte Rosa. Having fallen in love with mountains at a very young age, he never shrunk from the challenges of mountain life. Alongside our mother, he set about building the Auener Hof. This, too, was a pioneering achievement, for at the time there was no electricity. During the winter, the water pipes froze, and heavy snowfall made for rough going. But two things tend to stand out more than anything else in the history of our family: the love for this place and a touch of madness. Our mother used to always tell us about her biggest dream: one day she wanted to sell her now-famous spinach dumplings on the Golden Gate Bridge in California. Although this dream would never materialize, our mother taught us to think big and do our utmost to turn our dreams into reality. One day we’d like to travel to the Golden Gate Bridge to make our mother’s dream come true.
