Throughout his life, a deep connection to his homeland and a love of hunting led Franz Hubert Rhomberg, whom friends and family affectionately called “Schurle,” back to the Montafon time and again. Christmas, Easter, summer vacations – there was hardly a day off that the whole family did not spend in Schruns or at the hunting lodge in the Gafluna.
Always part of the party back then: cousins Philipp Rhomberg and Marc Rhomberg, who will now realize the dream of Prof. Dr. Franz “Schurle” Rhomberg and Walter Frey and restore the Posthotel Taube to its former glory.
Marc and Philipp Rhomberg
“My father, my uncle Walter Frey and their friends usually met in the hall of the Taube before they went hunting,” Philipp Rhomberg recalls. “We then stayed here in the hotel as little boys – and waited there quite dutifully.” The mischievous twinkle in his eyes reveals that this is only half the truth. “Back then, we also had quite a lot of nonsense in our heads,” laughs Marc Rhomberg, setting his cousin’s memory somewhat straight. “We always had a great time here,” he admits. And the two cousins also agree on another point: “The Montafon is our second home.”
The Frey and Rhomberg families regularly enjoy spending their free time in the Montafon. That is why it fills the two representatives of the building owner family with pride to now be able to complete what the two friends Walter Frey and Prof. Dr. Franz “Schurle” Rhomberg had already initiated by buying the Taube from their friend Pepsi Nels: to give Schruns back the Posthotel Taube the way it once shone. One thing is particularly important to the builders: “The Posthotel Taube should remain an open house for the people of Schruns and the entire Montafon!”
The hunting collection of the Rhomberg family
The Frey and Rhomberg families share not only a passion for the Montafon but also for hunting. Over many decades, Prof. Dr. Franz “Schurle” Rhomberg has built up an extensive hunting collection, which is currently housed in an outbuilding of the Montafoner Hof hotel. After completion of the renovation work, some exhibits as well as paintings by Prof. Dr. Franz “Schurle” Rhomberg’s ancestor Hanno Rhomberg (genre painter, 1819-1864) will find their way into the new old Posthotel Taube.
What goes, what stays and what comes
“We are not interested in building a completely new, hypermodern hotel. The house and the legendary guest garden radiate a strength that we definitely want to continue,” Philipp Rhomberg emphasizes.
Marc and Philipp Rhomberg cleaning out.
A significant part of this power is made up of the large and small treasures that have been waiting to be unearthed in the Taube, in some cases for many decades: Window fittings, wood paneling and, of course, the more than 200-year-old Montafon table where the group of regulars’ meet every Friday. All this was carefully removed, packed and stored over weeks and months and will find its way back to its rightful place in the new old Taube. The two cousins, along with Seraphin Tschohl and his friends, rolled up their sleeves themselves several times during the clearing out process. “The Frey and Rhomberg families have strong emotional ties to the place,” explains Philipp Rhomberg. “And when you’re emotionally connected to something, you have to pitch in yourself, otherwise you get nervous. My cousin Marc and I – we stood in the hotel for many days and cleared out and sorted many things. That’s a bit of our family character, pitching in ourselves.”
"The house exudes a strength that we are eager to continue."
Philipp Rhomberg
“We are a very traditional family as well,” adds Marc Rhomberg. That’s why it’s particularly important to the owner that the new old Taube is a reminder of tradition and combines cosmopolitanism with high quality and hospitality.
“Above all, the heart of the Taube, the time-honored main building, will be preserved,” Marc Rhomberg elaborates on the plans for the remodel, “There, we will restore the balconies to their original condition. The grand hall with the guest parlors below will be demolished. In its place, new parlors and new rooms will be built in the traditional style.”
In addition to the previous Stand Montafon building, on whose site the new Alpgues Wellness house will be built, the old post office building will also be demolished and rebuilt in the traditional style. “There will be a new bar here, which will be very open and also a bit sophisticated,” Marc Rhomberg is pleased to say. “Schurle-Bar” will be the name of the new central meeting place in Schruns. “In memory of my uncle, a person who was just like the new bar and the whole new Posthotel Taube will be: Facing the world and connected to Schruns in his heart.”
