Photos courtesy of Jagdschloss Kühtai
The first mention of Kühtai is found in the documents of the Counts of Tyrol in 1280. The area was always noteworthy for its abundant game. Emperor Maximilian supervised the hunting rights in 1497. One charter stated that “his majesty and only his majesty may hunt the same mountain goat.”
The present castle was built in 1624 by Archduke Leopold.
Habsburg emperor Franz Josef acquired the property in 1893. After his death in 1916, his grand-daughter received the castle as a wedding present a year later from her mother.
In 1952 Franz Josef’s great-grandson, Count Karl von Stolberg-Stolberg transformed the lodge into an outstanding inn.
Pamela’s Perspective
The appeal of Jagdschloss Kühtai is that it’s not located in one of Austria’s première ski resorts, and you still have great skiing right out the front door. Here you may experience an authentic Tyrolean winter hideaway without the snobby social maneuvering and over-inflated prices you’ll often see elsewhere.
Jagdschloss Kühtai
A 17th-century royal hunting castle
Contact
A-6183 Kühtai
(Tyrol)
Tel: ++43 (0) 5239 5201
Hotel website
Reserve with Booking.com
Fast facts
38 rooms; rooms can be in either the hunting lodge, the Elizabethan wing, or the courtyard annex.
Double rooms: 283–535 euros
Suites: from 305 euros
Rates include breakfast, tax, and service.
Open: mid-December to end of April
Getting there
Kühtai is 65 km west of Innsbruck. Buses from Innsbruck take a little over an hour.
What to do
Nearby: downhill and cross-country skiing
Weddings
Yes. “White winter weddings” are a specialty; horse-drawn carriages or a special sledge is available.
Two thousand meters high in the Alps, the Jagdschloss Kühtai is like a living museum of imperial country life.
Cozy lounges are filled with authentic family treasures: copperplate engravings of family trees from the collection of Princess Marie Louise (the second wife of Napoleon), antique chests, original paintings, and hunting trophies shot by various emperors and archdukes.
Comfortable and charming guest rooms are either lined in pine or whitewashed in Tyrolean style. As always, try for a room inside the hunting lodge itself.
Something special
Your hotel host is Christian Graf zu Stolberg-Stolberg, a direct descendant of Austria’s last Habsburg emperor, Franz Josef.
Cross-country skiing right outside the door