History of our inn near Puch

Austrian inn culture at Gasthof Kirchenwirt, Puch bei Salzburg

With us in the church host you will find lived tradition in the knowledge of a century-old past. Our inn in Puch can look back on a long, illustrious history.

The beginnings

The church landlord was first mentioned as a courtable estate around 1400. This estate presents itself as a large “hub”, whose fields and meadows stretched on the plain below the state road to Urstein. But it fell in three equal parts to his widow and her two children after the death of the first owner. Peter Goldner acquires it from them, who passes it on to the Pankraz Straucher and his wife Katharina.

Around 1570, with the approval of the Glannegg Nursing Court, it was given permission to sell “Pier and Prot” to hikers, Fuhrleut and all those who passed through the street at that time. The next owner, the master shipbuilder Matthäus Hollweger, loaded wine from the Wachau on his journeys back from Vienna and Budapest and also handed it out at home.

The inn in Puch from the 17th century until today

In 1601 the property came to a “priest” from Adnet, who is to be regarded as the builder of the present house. In 1605, however, he sold his property to Pankratz Grundler for 1100 guilders and 20 thaler sum money. In a description of the land, ordered in 1612 by the Prince Archbishop Wolf-Dietrich, we read: “On the estate and the Taferne Waichenlehen Grundler stands in Urbar according to the interchange letter. Has on it a brick house with statl and stable, along with the herb garden and small gartl above the house and the streets”. He had 6 tagwork ground – 4 daywork sown with traid, the other undeveloped meadows carry 6 hay and grummet.

In 1618, the quarry master Oswald Höllweger bought this property.
In 1605 we see Georg Prüggler and his wife Ursula as owners.
In 1630 the landlord at Elsbethen bought Balthasar Jäger around 1600 guilders, who passed it on to a Peter Gruber in 1641 around 1450 guilders.
In 1692 Mathias Mayrhofer and his wife were bought with 1700 guilders.
1702 Georg Prähauser: The otherwise meagre and dry notes in the “Anlaittables” make an exception. They also list “dead and living ferns”.
Until 1842, the house remained in this family. Then it was acquired by a Johann Georg Bankosegger. Due to the devaluation of the money, the purchase price at that time was 5000 guilders.
In 1856, Franz and Therese Signitzer bought this estate.

In 1909 the property passed to the Rettenbacher family.
August Rettenbacher’s parents, who came from Taugl (St. Koloman), carried out numerous renovations to the inn. August and Cäcilia Rettenbacher, brought the Kirchenwirt to international renown with guests from all over the world.

In the meantime, Christian Rettenbacher has taken over the business.

We wish you a wonderful stay in our historic inn near Hallein.

Your family Rettenbacher