Gasthof zum Stern
The history of Gasthof zum Stern in Oetz
Gasthof zum Stern is well known far beyond the borders of our country as an excellent guesthouse and historic building with its magnificent fresco paintings. But it also has a long and interesting history. Its location in the centre of the village in a somewhat elevated position indicates that this building is one of the first and oldest in the village. According to the oral tradition of the locals, these houses and buildings in Oetz and Sautens were built by the pagans.
The Time of Charlemagne / Charles The Great
Historians assume that the Christianisation of the population of North Tyrol was completed at the time of Charlemagne - i.e. around 786 to 814 - and his contemporary the Bavarian Duke Tassilo, who founded 2 monasteries in Tyrol. We may assume that our region was already populated around this time.
Prof. Dr. Stolz writes in the essay about the Ötztal Valley in July 1932 in an issue of "Unser Blatt": "Even though the villages of Oetz and others in the Oetztal Valley are first mentioned in writing in the deed of donation of Duke Henry the Lion in 1166, we cannot assume that these settlements were only founded at that time. Their beginnings probably lie several centuries further back."
Gasthof zum Stern receives fundamental rights
Gasthof zum Stern belonged to the large” Keilhof” which was subject to the noble ladies' convent of the Benedictine nuns in Frauenwörth in Chiemsee with funderamental rights. This also indicates that Gasthof zum Stern is very old because the aforementioned monastery, founded by Duke Tassilo in 782, can trace its estate in the Ötztal to the beginning of the 13th century. Prof. Stolz assumes that it had already received them from the Bavarian tribal dukes in the 8th century.
The inscription as real evidence
Of course, we only receive certain information in 1573 through an inscription on the Gasthof zum Stern itself which reads: "Christian Rott, a lawyer and guest in the court, together with his wife Margretha Leeherin has at this time done a lot of building work and made changes to this house in 1573".
