The "Post" - Tradition and Vision
The story begins in 1937, when Erich and Irma Moosbrugger bought the inn in Lech. It was a small hotel with 20 beds, a farm and a general store. The signing of the purchase contract marked the beginning of an impressive success story.
Erich's family came from the Bregenzerwald. In the Baroque era, the ancestors of the Moosbrugger family were known as master builders, especially in church construction. Later, many family members chose a career as lawyers.
By contrast, Erich Moosbrugger was more interested in sports. He came to Lech as a ski instructor when he was barely 20 years old, and in the summer, he worked in agriculture. Irma came from the Innsbruck hotelier family Skardarasy. Her parents had already bought the Hotel Flexen in Zürs in 1931. Later, her brother Ernst Skardarasy bought the Hotel Zürserhof. Young Irma was an enthusiastic skier and even won the Madloch race. Her brothers Franz and Ernst Skardarasy became famous as the first ski pioneers in New Zealand and Australia.
First ski guests at the "Gasthof Post" in Lech
Vorarlberg, in the early 1920s - skiing became modern. Hannes Schneider had founded a ski school at the Arlberg in 1922 and invented the so-called "Arlberg technique": The stem turn replaced the telemark turn. In 1937, the year the Moosbrugger family bought the "Post", Austria's first T-bar lift was built in Zürs. On the Tyrolean side in St. Anton, the Galzig cable car was one of the first cable cars in the Alpine region.
The passion for skiing brought Erich and Irma together. They married in the year 1935 and started a family with three children: Inge (* 1936), Franz (* 1938) and Ernst (* 1943).
Erich Moosbrugger was drafted into the war in 1942. Irma continued to run the farm alone during the war years and raised the three children. The remote village was spared the terrible turmoil of war - but of course also tourism. Erich returned from the Italian front in 1945 and was now fully committed to the hotel and to building up the village of Lech as a winter sports resort.
Tourist boom - from an inn to a 5-star hotel in Lech
In 1951, the family gave up farming and focused entirely on the hotel business. The inn was expanded to 55 beds. The signs were pointing to reconstruction, upswing and development. In 1958, the hotelier family acquired the "Säge" opposite the inn.
In 1960, Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and Prince Bernhard spent their winter holidays at the Post for the first time. A long-standing friendship between the two families began, which has continued into the next generations.
The 1960s marked the beginning of a new era in the region, and the inn in Lech: international celebrities spent their skiing holidays in the small, remote Alpine village. Skiing became the favourite winter pastime of well-off personalities and celebrities. Lech positioned itself as one of the top destinations in the Alpine region with upscale hotels and outstanding quality on a culinary level - together with St. Moritz and Chamonix.
In 1964, the elder son Franz got married. Together with his young wife Kristl (née Schalle from St. Anton), Franz took over the business from Erich and Irma Moosbrugger. Just one year later, Franz and Kristl Moosbrugger built an indoor swimming pool. It was one of the first in Austria. The couple had three children - Michael (1966), Johanna (1967) and Florian (1969).
The next conversion to a 5-star hotel in Lech followed
In 1972, the "Post" was fundamentally rebuilt for the first time and received its pale pink façade. As early as in 1976, the "Gasthof Post" was admitted to the international hotel association Relais & Châteaux. In 1984, Franz and Kristl Moosbrugger laid out a spacious park behind the hotel. In 1986, a generously proportioned salon - the Hubertushalle - was added. Now larger receptions and events could also be held at the Post.
Franz Moosbrugger, a passionate mountaineer, died suddenly of altitude sickness in the Himalayas in 1988. Kristl Moosbrugger now had to continue running the house alone. All three children took turns supporting their mother. The brave and exemplary management of the "Post" led to Kristl Moosbrugger being the first woman to be awarded the title "Hotelier of the Year" in 1990.
In 1994, the further life paths of the three children were decided. Florian Moosbrugger returned to the family business after international training, Johanna Moosbrugger took over her mother's parents' house, the Bergschlössl in St. Anton, and Michael Moosbrugger, the eldest son, left the hotel business. He became a winemaker and took over the traditional winery Schloss Gobelsburg in the Lower Austrian Kamptal.
Pioneering spirit and foresight at the 5-star hotel "Gasthof Post" in Lech
In 1999 Florian Moosbrugger married Vienna-born Sandra Strasser. Together, the young couple took over the management of the "Gasthof Post" in Lech.
In 2003 Sandra and Florian Moosbrugger took up the old tradition of the general store and opened the FeinPostLaden. In 2004, the "Post" was named Hotel of the Year and Florian Moosbrugger Hotelier of the Year. Daughters Vivienne (2001) and Violeta (2005) were born.
After the severe flood damage in the summer of 2005, the famous hotel terrace was rebuilt and an underground car park was built underneath.
In 2010, a new wing was added to the hotel "Gasthof Post". It now houses a generously spaced spa area which includes two separate swimming pools: a dedicated indoor swimming pool with slide was built for kids and an area for adults seeking tranquillity was built one floor up. The eleven rooms in the new part of the property boast contemporary furnishings. However, the classic Post signature has also been retained in the new rooms. The hotel now has 46 rooms and suites with a total of 95 beds.
Finally, in 2017, another major renovation was carried out: the kitchen with storage and preparation rooms was converted into a large, clearly laid out room with daylight, to be able to handle organisational and logistical matters perfectly. At the same time, the historic dining room was opened up to the village with a glass façade. The separation between the hotel restaurant and the à la carte restaurant was abolished, so that the hotel "Gasthof Post" opened up both visually and in terms of content.
Together and hand in hand, the family keeps working on its life's work across the generations. The awareness of their own roots in one of the most beautiful places on earth, the warm hospitality as a tradition and the unwavering pioneering spirit have always had a decisive influence on the 5-star hotel "Gasthof Post" - and also ensure exciting visions for the future and passionate management of the business in the present. You can get a first impression of the ambience at the "Gasthof Post" in our gallery. Feel free to take a look around!