The Hotel Goldener Ochs is known in the imperial city of Ischl for its warm hospitality, personal touch and family atmosphere, which is particularly important to the Schweiger family. It offers the opportunity to stay like the imperial couple in the comfortable rooms and suites of the 4-star hotel in the Salzkammergut, savor the delicacies of the in-house restaurant and relax in the new wellness & spa area.
Hotel Goldener Ochs History
The growing number of spa guests in the Salzkammergut town of Bad Ischl has transformed the butcher's shop into an inn with rooms. Even the stagecoaches liked to stop here, change horses, strengthen themselves and rest from long journeys: the saunas are now housed in the former stable with historic vaults.
Tourism and summer holidays in Bad Ischl are thriving, especially thanks to the imperial house of the Habsburgs. The city becomes a great ferment with the birth of the "princes of salt": since the long-awaited heir to the throne has not appeared, the imperial mother, Archduchess Sophie, visits Ischl for some salt cures with brine. These treatments are evidently successful and the long-awaited heir to the throne and later the emperor Franz Joseph and his brothers see the light in the following years.
The "Ischler Wunderkur" quickly spread in aristocratic circles. It was now "in vogue" to go to Bad Ischl in the Salzkammergut for a summer break. In addition to the European nobility and Austrian industrialists, numerous artists were attracted to the imperial city, because at that time the parlor culture flourished. Patrons and creative minds meet in the wonderful landscape of the Salzkammergut, plan joint projects and let themselves be inspired by the Alpine savoir-vivre. Franz Lehár, a faithful regular at the Golden Ochsen, has always said "I have my best ideas in Ischl!" Incidentally, the composer only lived in three houses along the river from the hotel. His house, the “Villa Lehár”, is now open to the public as a museum and is definitely worth a visit.
Even the imperial house of the Habsburgs and its court remain faithful to the charming city on the River Traun in the midst of a magnificent mountain landscape. Emperor Franz Joseph celebrates his engagement to his Sisi in Bad Ischl. The "Hotel Austria" on the Traun River is more chosen. The current city museum is located directly opposite the Hotel Goldener Ochs on the Ischler Esplanade and shares the beautiful view of the Traun.
Empress Sissi and Emperor Franz Joseph make Bad Ischl their annual summer residence. When they got engaged, Archduchess Sofi gave the couple the property that is now known as the "imperial villa". As a good omen, the building was built in the shape of an "E", which stands for the first letter of the empress's name, Elizabeth. The monarch couple will spend no less than sixty summers in the Kaiservilla in Bad Ischl, from there they will go hunting and go on long hikes to escape the Viennese summer heat with pleasure.
The Golden Ochs is the ideal starting point to discover the sights of the former imperial city and the atmosphere of a historically important place - or simply to relax, to enjoy shops, cafes and the joie de vivre of the Salzkammergut.