Over 100 years of hospitality
From an alpine lodge to a 4*S hotel
It is certainly unusual for a lake - and one as picturesque as Lake Eibsee - to be owned by a family. Our great-great-grandfather exhibited good intuition when he bought the lake in the 19th century. He built an alpine lodge there, laying the foundation stone at Lake Eibsee for visitors who were drawn to the mountains.
His sons built the Eibsee Hotel and, later, we constantly renovated the hotel and adapted it to the needs of the times over the past 40 years
Our history
Courage to make a fresh start
How Lake Eibsee came into our family
In the Werdenfelser Land, people shook their head in disbelief when August Terne bought Lake Eibsee for 10,000 Goldmarks in 1884. Until then, it had only been known as a good fishing spot among a few fishermen. That was because the "gypsy puddle" had not yet brought luck to any of its owners. However, that did not deter August Terne. He established a regular connection between his new property and the mail station in Murnau.
An alpine lodge on the lake shore
Suddenly the Eibsee became a popular destination for excursions, the idyllic location becoming known as far away as Munich. In 1900, August Terne built an alpine lodge on the lakeshore. Fresh venison was served as a specialty of the house - still a culinary delicacy at the Eibsee Hotel today. The beautiful location paired with the hospitality of "Father and Mother Terne" - she being a native of Partenkirchen - quickly attracted a multitude of loyal guests to the alpine lodge.
Modern alpine hotel
Two of Terne’s sons, Karl and Hans, successfully continued the tradition after the founder’s death. In order to meet the growing demand, they built a hotel with 60 beds before the First World War (1913), which they converted into a modern alpine hotel with international conveniences and 230 beds in the early 1920s.
The most renowned hotel from the 1920s to 1940
Politicians, artists, famous doctors, top businessmen and famous athletes met at the "Eibsee". Richard Strauss regularly played cards with the Terne brothers here and many of his compositions were also composed at Lake Eibsee. The flying ace, Ernst Udet, was also a loyal friend of the family and the hotel. Lake Eibsee served as his base for preparing his daredevil landing on the Zugspitzplatt just under the summit. Another renowned visitor, the inventor Valier, thundered over the frozen lake on his rocket sled. There was always something going on in and around the Eibsee-Hotel. "The hotel of the times" was undoubtedly situated in the alpine paradise of Werdenfelser Land!
Political events disrupt the hotel's operations
The war temporarily put an end to the Terne family's role as hotelkeepers. In 1941, the Luftwaffe took possession of the hotel, and from the end of the war until 1972, it served as a recreation center for the U.S. Armed Forces. The service members in uniform of both "stripes" knew where Bavaria is most beautiful.
The 1970s: Partial new construction of the hotel before reopening
After the hotel was returned to the Terne-Rieppel family, Peter K.H. Rieppel, great-grandson of August Terne, and his wife Nanni completely tore down and rebuilt a part of the hotel with immense financial efforts before it was reopened on July 1, 1977.
Modernizations of the Eibsee Hotel
Pia Rieppel and her brother, Marc Rieppel, together with wife Susanne Rieppel, have been running the Eibsee Hotel since 2016, thus continuing the hotel's successful century-long tradition. Most of the hotel rooms have been redesigned and the wellness area has been expanded, among other things.
Reopening after more than 40 years
We are proud of our hotel on the lake
On the 1st of July, 1977, the Eibsee-Hotel was finally reopened! Of course, we celebrated our 40th anniversary in style with our guests in the summer of 2017.
Unfortunately, it rained considerably the week of the anniversary, but we all had a wonderful time with many nice conversations. The program was varied and included the first Eibsee Kitchen Party, pre-lunch drinks on the Reserl boat, a children's pirate treasure hunt, street food, sundowners on the sun deck and much more.
Prominent guests
Celebrities in our guestbook
Names like His Holiness the XIV, the Dalai Lama, the former defense ministers, Dr. Franz Josef Jung (Federal Republic of Germany), Pavel Grachev (Russia) and Les Aspin (United States of America), former Federal Chancellor Dr. Helmut Schmidt and many other public figures - e.g. ski champions Magdalena Neuner and Felix Neureuther, TV host Günther Jauch, famous mountaineer Reinhold Messner, the Spyder Murphy Gang band, famous singer/songwriter Udo Jürgens - decorate the Eibsee Hotel’s guestbook.
You, too, can be a guest at the Eibsee-Hotel!
