Powering Luxury with Trees: The 300-Year-Old Austrian Hotel Leading a Green Revolution

One of Austria’s most exceptional Alpine luxury escapes, the 300-year-old Stanglwirt, located below the majestic Wilder Kaiser mountain range, is powered entirely by wood. This unique, family-run inn, which began as a miners’ tavern in 1567, is now a pioneer in sustainability.

The 170-room Stanglwirt in the Tyrolean Alps is more than just a hotel. As the 80-year-old owner and patriarch, Balthasar Hauser, explained: “Stanglwirt is not a hotel with an organic farm. It’s an organic farm that happens to have a hotel.”

The Power of Wood for a Sustainable Future

Run by the Hauser family since 1722, the property’s sustainability model has been rooted in agriculture for centuries. Set on 132 hectares, Stanglwirt produces its own cheese, milk, yoghurt, and beef, with about 75% of its food sourced locally.

However, the most revolutionary step lies in its energy independence. After using a bark-powered biomass plant since the 1980s, the hotel installed a cutting-edge system called “Stanglwirt BIO-Energie” in autumn 2024. This technology converts wood chips from naturally fallen local timber into wood gas, which produces both electricity and heat—and even creates biochar, a nutrient-rich soil enhancer.

Maria Hauser, part of the 18th generation of innkeepers, noted that Stanglwirt is the first hotel on the planet to use this technology. After a year of testing, the system now fully powers the entire property. “It’s both carbon neutral and climate positive,” Maria confirmed.

Alpine Charm and a Cowshed Tavern

The hotel’s architecture itself is built with local timber, particularly the durable Swiss pine. Guest rooms are layered with Tyrolean details, from crocheted pillows to large windows framing the Alps, ensuring guests never forget their stunning location.

Beyond the extensive spa, Stanglwirt features a large band of Lipizzaner horses, its own riding school, and three swimming pools. A unique feature is the Kuhstall Stube (Cowshed Tavern), a 12-table restaurant where diners feast on steak and goulash while looking through a window into a barn where a line-up of cows peer back at them.

While the hallways are adorned with framed photos of famous guests (Arnold Schwarzenegger, Muhammad Ali, Hillary Clinton), Maria noted that today’s journalists are more interested in the hotel’s sustainability practices than the celebrities who have stayed there. Stanglwirt proves that historic luxury and environmental leadership can go hand in hand.

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Source: BBC

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