The history of the Mairhof

If only these ancient walls could speak!

The Mairhof has been owned by the Bernhart Family since 1930.

In that year, the estate was auctioned off, and Antonia Kofler (the mother of Matthias Bernhart) purchased it – despite having nine small children to care for.
Our grandfather told us the story of how, during the first year here at the Mairhof, they had only very little to eat – but lots of work. But after only two years, the family was able to afford the purchase of a small pig, which they then proceeded to raise. As a result, they now at least had enough meat during the hard winter months. From that time on, the farmstead's situation improved steadily. Soon, the mother was able to pay off the mortgage, and the farmstead was breaking even. The barn housed cattle, pigs, and chickens. Wheat, oats, hay, and potatoes were cultivated in the fields.

Mairhof-Moarhof

The Mairhof farmsteads arose while the land was under the rule of the Franks. These farmsteads were managed by the lord of the estates himself. His second-in-command was called the "Meier" (also: "Moar"). It was the responsibility of the Meier to organize things, supervise the work performed by the serfs, and collect the fees owed to the lord.
The Moar controlled the largest farmstead in the village and was an important personage.

The Mairhof timeline
  • 1357: First mention in an historical document; owner: Chuonrad
  • 1552: Mairhof
  • 1633: Mr. Mang Cristan von Spauregg acquires the Mairhof in Partschins
The Gothic gable

Today's façade with its Gothic gable was installed onto the Late-Gothic frescoed façade after a fire in the year 1500 (Engadin War). The fragment of a heraldic eagle (of Tyrol) is visible on the south side of the building.

1935: The club / hotel of the "Dopolavoro" fascist party and also its party headquarters were located in the upper story.

A house for many different professions

A number of different professions were practiced at the Mairhof. That's because the house was large, and sometimes several families lived here at once – or rooms were rented out.

  • Barber shop: Grandmother's room
  • Blacksmith: The horse stables
  • Cartwright: The horse stables
  • Dopolavoro: The children's room
  • School: The day room

Thus, in earlier times, the cattle had to be driven every day from the stalls across what is today the street through the passageway in the house – that was because it was only behind the house that there was a well with water in the wintertime.

During the war – Grandfather tells us – he had to hide at the Mairhof for a couple of weeks. During the day, he hid in the basement between the vault and the wooden ceiling. Only in the night could he come down to eat and see his family.

In 1952, Matthias Bernhart married the pretty girl from Lug Street. She was the daughter of neighbors who lived down the way.

Matthias Bernhart later inherited the farmstead, and began cultivating apples, pears, and wine grapes. Thus, the farm – which had once been limited to animal husbandry – became a fruit farm specializing in particular in apples. A small portion of land was also dedicated to the growing of wine grapes for its own consumption.

His son Sebastian Bernhart helped expand the farmstead. And the Mairhof greeted its first guests when his wife Adele also began running a bed & breakfast in the 1980s.
Sebastian and Adele lived in the upper story with their three children Matthias, Michael, and Hannes – that's also where the B&B was. The children grew bigger and soon needed more space, so the family decided to close the B&B.

Matthias, the oldest son, attended the Laimburg Vocational School for Agriculture and soon started helping out with the farm work. Sebastian Bernhart died in 2016 at the young age of only 62 years, so Matthias took charge of the farmstead. It was then necessary to rethink our future.

A major reconstruction of the Mairhof was planned and, in the year 2017, implemented. As a result, two private residences and four vacation apartments – plus a new cellar for processing the wine grapes, etc. were created.