Reopening Herzogliches Gasthaus Altes Bad

"Altes Bad" will open its doors again on 02 July 2023

The fact that a Bavarian restaurant with roots in the 15th century has been given a new lease of life is thanks to a loving renovation by Korbinian Kohler. The "Altes Bad" shows how good tradition can look - and taste.

Everything looks like something out of a fairytale. Wildbad Kreuth looks enchanted at any time of year. If you take the narrow private road from Kreuth and catch your first glimpse of it, you will discover a castle-like ensemble complete with church and a restaurant, set as if by magic in the mountain panorama. Everyone who knows the place describes it as "magical". This may also have something to do with its history, where a magic spring and shepherds, kings and princes, seekers of salvation and heroes appear.

How it all began

The story begins in the dark past. Once upon a time, in the 15th century, hunters shot a doe in the forests between the Weißachtal and the Blauberge mountains. The doe saved itself in a lonely valley, bathed in a spring and got up again cured. Word gets around, the shepherds and farmers in the area try the same thing - and they also feel better afterwards. What seems like a miracle to them is later explained scientifically. The waters that flow down from the hollow stone contain iodine, sulphur and iron. Their effect is beneficial to health.

The monks of Tegernsee take charge of the "miracle" and open a natural bath in the forest. It is first mentioned in a document in 1490, and starting from 1498, the natural bath in the forest has a bath attendant. A veritable bathhouse was built by an abbot named Heinrich in 1511, and his successor Quirin added another one in 1696, as well as a chapel with an onion tower, whose oratory is on the first floor of the building and is openly integrated into the nave. The little church, covered with shingles, is still preserved today and still manages without electricity or heating. In 1818, King Max I Joseph of Bavaria bought the farm complex and commissioned Leo von Klenze to build a magnificent building on the opposite side of the paddock. The springs decovered by the monks in the 15th century were transferred and relocated there. The glorious time of the Wildbad began and attracted guests such as Emperor Franz of Austria, the Russian Tsar and the Mann family. Many good and bad years later, it was once again the centre of general attention as the meeting place of the CSU from 1975, until the lease between the Wittelsbacher family and the party expired in 2016.

Herzogliches Gasthaus Altes Bad

Im gegenüberliegenden Herzoglichen Gasthaus Altes Bad, das im 19. Jahrhundert in eine Gaststätte verwandelt wird, kehren derweil Adelige und Bürgerliche, Bayern und Zugereiste, Fußfaule und Wanderer ein, angezogen vom traditionellen Ambiente und der guten bayerischen Küche. “Wer hier aus der Gegend stammt, kennt das ‘Alte Bad’”, meint Gabi Stobel, eine Mitarbeiterin der Tourismusbehörde in Kreuth. „Seit jeher“, so sagt sie, „kehrt man hier an Feiertagen, Geburtstagen oder Hochzeiten, im Freundeskreis, nach Bergtouren oder mit dem Partner ein. Oder man lässt sich von Kreuth aus mit der Pferdekutsche hierher fahren, das ist vor allem im Winter unglaublich romantisch.” Das Tegernseer Bauernhaus hat Charme und Geschichte, dennoch wird das Restaurant, das zwei Jahrhunderte mit Bravour überstanden hat, von der Pandemie ins wirtschaftliche Aus getrieben und schließt 2022. Betrieben wird nun von dem Hotelier Korbinian Kohler, der in den letzten zwölf Jahren rund um den Tegernsee eine Reihe in Dornröschenschlaf versunkene Immobilien wachgeküsst hat - und zuvor im Wildbad-Komplex mit Zustimmung von Herzogin Helene in Bayern die stilvollste Pop-Up-Wander-Lodge diesseits der Alpen etabliert hat.

Meanwhile, in the "Herzogliches Gasthaus Altes Bad", which was transformed into a restaurant in the 19th century, nobles and commoners, Bavarians, residents and hikers stop in, attracted by the traditional ambience and the good Bavarian cuisine. "Anyone from the area knows the 'Altes Bad'," says Gabi Stobel, an employee of the tourism authority in Kreuth. "Ever since," she says, "people have stopped in here on holidays, birthdays or weddings, with friends, after mountain tours or with their partner. Or you can be driven here from Kreuth in a horse-drawn carriage, which is incredibly romantic, especially in winter." The Tegernsee farmhouse has charm and history, yet the restaurant, which has survived two centuries, closes in 2022 due to the pandemic.

Reopening in summer 2023

From July 2023 the “Altes Bad” will be run by hotelier Korbinian Kohler, who in the last twelve years has kissed awake a number of properties around Lake Tegernsee that had sunk into Sleeping Beauty slumber. He and previously established a stylish pop-up hiking lodge in the Wildbad complex with the approval of Herzogin Helene in Bayern.

The "Herzogliches Gasthaus Altes Bad" opens its doors with an official opening on 2 July 2023.

Freshly whitewashed, the walls of the four parlours glow, and artistic Lüftl paintings by Markus Hagn entwine around the windows and doors. The famous old master of this dying art form knows the building complex inside out, having previously embellished the neighbouring chapel.

In the "Altes Bad", finely brushed acorn tendrils provide regional flair. Here there are ash-blond spruce benches, covered with fine leather and fitted with cushions whose linen covers are also something special. Martina Gistl from Gmund produces them on request in small quantities using an ancient hand-printing process. Korbinian Kohler and interior designer Nora Witzigmann deliberately chose "very traditional Bavarian patterns from the region and transported them into the “Bachmair Weissach colour world". Their natural beige gently transitions into green. Not only the stone and wooden floors, but also the 19th-century pendant lights with flower-painted glass shades are original, the heavy oak tops of the guesthouse tables freshly refurbished.

Traditional cuisine with what the Kreuth nature has to offer

On the tables, Bavarian traditional cuisine is served the way it should be: hearty, generous, honest, because the menu features what Kreuth's nature has to offer. The cheese specialities come from the Kreuth natural cheese dairy, game and mushrooms from the surrounding forests, fish from the nearby ducal fish farm and ingredients from other selected regional partners.

Facts about Herzogliches Gasthaus Altes Bad

The "Herzogliches Gasthaus Altes Bad" seats 100 visitors in four parlours, the panorama terrace with a view of the Alps has room for 250 visitors. Open for lunch, afternoons and evenings - from Wednesday to Sunday. Monday and Tuesday are closed. The "Herzogliches Gasthaus Altes Bad" is ideal for celebrations such as weddings, birthdays or exclusive Bavarian corporate events. We look forward to welcoming you!