Originally a privilege of the nobility, in the 19th century the wealthy middle classes adopted the ritual of spending the hot summer months at their cooler country home – both throughout Europe and here with us in South Tyrol.
Right at the start of summer on 29th June, prosperous urbanites packed up their bags, baggage and household goods and moved to the countryside or the mountains to escape the oppressive heat of the city. For a whole 72 days they found accommodation in guesthouses and on farms or lodged in private summer villas. A considerable period of time, when we consider that the average length of stay of our visitors today is 4.8 days.
Whilst initially it might have been for the change in temperature, the importance of the summer retreat changed increasingly over the course of the decades to a holiday with added value. With entertainment such as hiking and climbing, summer holidaymakers were presented with an exciting stay. As long ago as 1853, in his travel guide, Eine Woche in Meran ('A Week in Meran'), E. von Hartwig describes in detail a day trip that starts from Meran and calls at Vöran and Hafling before going on to the summit of the Ifinger. Incidentally, this work is considered today to be one of the first hiking guides written about our region.
From the mid-19th century, rich Bolzano and Meran families regularly spent their summer break on the farms on the Tschögglberg. At the end of the 1930s the first wealthy Meran natives began to acquire land in Hafling and to build stately villas there. The bustling building activity was limited to the orographic right hand side of the Sinichbach stream, where there was a road between St. Kathrein and Falzeben. Even today, the largest hotels in the area and countless second homes are to be found here. The latest censuses show that around 65 of Hafling’s second homes are owned by private citizens from Meran.
From today's standpoint, the construction of the road from Meran to Hafling (1978) and Vöran (1982) was decisive for the development of tourism on the Tschögglberg. The visitors who until then had to travel from Obermais to St. Kathrein by cable car, were now able to reach their holiday home in comfort by car or public bus. This established the retreat beneath the Ifinger that had long been beloved of summer holidaymakers as a modern tourism destination.
Summer retreat 2.0
And today? What does the summer retreat of the past, which above all promised peace and seclusion, have in common with the modern, usually extremely active and eventful summer holiday? Probably more and more. This is because at a time when life is increasingly hectic and fast moving, slowing down and finding peace are becoming ever more important. That the appeal of the summer retreat had never fully gone away has been shown by the last few years. Years of uncertainty and stagnation during which we have once again focussed on the beauty of what is close by, tangible and local. A walk in the woods, diving into a lake or a gentle hike through nature: when we think about what we really need to relax ourselves, we soon realise that the good old summer retreat is still right on trend.