History of the Heilbad Burgwies 1450
It was on a cold, wet, rainy autumn day when Karner Josef was once again on the road with his wagon.
Lost deeply in thought, he sat on his coach box, the reins in his hand, when suddenly the horses shied and came to a halt.
Josef looked up; by now it had already become late in the evening. In the moonlight he saw a little man standing in front of the horses.
He asked, “May my companions and I ride along for a while?”
Karner replied, “Climb on, you can make yourselves comfortable in the straw on the flatbed wagon.”
All the little men climbed onto the wagon, except for their leader, who sat down next to him on the coach box. “Where are you coming from in this weather?” Josef asked. “We come from the Habach Valley and want to go up to the Voice on the Geisberg.” “Well, you still have quite a bit of the way ahead of you. I am heading to Stuhlfelden to spend the night, and tomorrow I’ll continue my journey.” “Ah,” said the little man, “it’s not the best either, always being out and about in wind and weather.” “Well,” Josef replied, “when I was younger, it didn’t bother me that much. But now I have terrible rheumatism, and everything hurts.”
And so they continued on until they arrived in Burgwies. There the little man said, “You can let us off here. As thanks for taking us with you, a sulfur spring will emerge here in the spring. Bathe in it and you will be freed from your pain.”
Since that time, many people seeking healing—just like Karner Josef—have come to Burgwies and found relief from their suffering.
In Burgwies, Christian Plenkh is the bath master.
Esmarina Oberndorfferin, the wife of Melchior Welser, an innkeeper in Stuhlfelden, is the owner of the healing bath. She had the dilapidated bath and house rebuilt and restored.
Emperor Francis I, together with his wife, Empress Caroline Augusta, and the imperial court, came to the healing bath in Burgwies. Afterwards, they set off in their six-horse carriage toward Stuhlfelden. The ceremonial welcome was to take place at Kreuzbühel. The Emperor stepped out, was greeted by the dean and the schoolmaster Loisel, and saw the vast pools of standing water, marshes, and lakes.
An involuntary sigh of regret escaped him, and he spoke the meaningful words: “My children, help must be given to you!”
Pfleger Kürsinger pointed out the further consequences of the marshland and encouraged him to take action. In fact, in the following years, the drainage of the Pinzgau region was undertaken with great determination, though it required overcoming tremendous difficulties.
In gratitude for the Emperor’s words and his support, a monument was erected on this spot. An obelisk made of green Stubach serpentine was put up, crowned with an imperial double-headed eagle and bearing cast-iron plaques with the inscription:
“My children, help must be given to you – The grateful people of Mittersill.”
Behind the monument, a spruce, a copper beech, a maple, a walnut tree, and a stone pine were planted — whose initial letters spell the name “Franz.”
Thomas Pammer acquired the bath, after which it was run by his widow and their ten sons and three daughters. Even during this period, well-known physicians and medical scholars repeatedly pointed out the healing power of the sulfur spring.
Hans Grießer purchased it. Around this time, the construction of the railway also began, and the station ‘Heilbad Burgwies’ was built so that spa guests could travel there by train. Due to this development, the toll barrier — which had previously lain across the road near the Schweizerhaus — was removed, allowing wagons to pass through without paying tolls. During the railway construction, the monument dedicated to the Emperor was moved from Kreuzbühel to a location between the tracks and the new road, where it remains to this day and can still be visited.
Alfons and Pfani Kerle purchased the healing bath at auction. Alfons continued working in Reutte, Tyrol, as a master builder in his construction company. His wife managed the establishment together with a housekeeper until her death in 1948. After that, Alfons Kerle operated it with his second wife until 1962. The marriage was dissolved, and Mrs. Kerle moved to Linz. Alfons Kerle and his sister-in-law Katharina Kerle, the wife of his brother Sepp, continued running the Heilbad Burgwies until 1965.
In May, the spouses Ernst and Anna Stipke purchased it and moved from Frankfurt to Burgwies. Over time, an additional building was constructed, and renovations were carried out repeatedly.
It is now run by Martina Racan (the daughter of Ernst and Anna) and her husband Christian Racan.
