The Oberraindlhof has many stories to tell. But what happened here on 19 September 1991 and in the days, weeks and months that followed has never been seen before in our old walls. What discussions and speculations there were at the regulars' table! Heated discussions flared up and wild stories did the rounds. And the Bild newspaper even wrote: "War in the mountains! But from the beginning. And one after the other. We want to tell you what the Oberraindlhof has to do with the 5,300-year-old glacier mummy "Ötzi".
The Simons: welcome guests
We don't remember exactly what we served Erika and Helmut Simon from Nuremberg for dinner on the evening of 18 September 1991. But we do know that the German mountaineering couple, who regularly came to our house for dinner on their holidays, were something of celebrities less than 24 hours later. And it went like this: They wanted to climb the Finailspitze. Strictly speaking, only Mr Simon. Because his wife Erika probably had more of a shopping spree in Merano in mind. And because the mountains were increasingly shrouded in thick fog on this September day, the plan of summiting the Finailspitze was abandoned and the two wanted to turn back. And go shopping in Merano.
Casualty of war? Accidental mountaineer?
But instead of fancy Italian shoes, the Simons were to find a leathery corpse only a short time later. Spat out by the glacier. Helmut Simon took a photo of the gruesome find. A photo that was to go around the world. The story of the "Leich" quickly made the rounds in the Schnals Valley. There was talk of missing mountaineers. Of World War soldiers who had met a gruesome death up on the glacier. The Simon couple only found out that they had discovered an archaeological sensation, and that they had only done so because they had lost their way in the fog, long after they had returned home to Nuremberg. "Suddenly all hell broke loose," Erika said in an interview decades later. And all hell broke loose at Oberraindlhof, too. For days - oh, what - for weeks there was no other topic than the Ötzi. And only because the mayor and the financial policeman didn't let up, the Iceman is officially a South Tyrolean. Until today. But that's another story. By the way: If you like, you can visit the Ötzi discovery site yourself during your holiday at Oberraindlhof. The best way to do this is on a guided hike. You can find all the information here. We are also happy to advise you personally. Just get in touch with us.