Tradition & Geschichte
The name Gargellen means approximately “spring”, and has its origins in the Rhaetoromansch language.
Gargellen was first officially mentioned in the year 1411. But long before that the Gargellen valley was of crucial geographical importance due to the existence of an ancient pack-horse route over the Schlappiner pass. It was along this route, known as the "Via Valtellina", that the famous Veltliner wines were transported from Tirano in the Italian Valtellina valley, across the Swiss canton of Graubuenden to Gargellen in the Montafon. The mountain passes between Switzerland and Gargellen were infamous for the smuggling of commodities such as coffee, sugar and tobacco across the border.
The present parish church dates back to the year 1615. It has been established that a school has been in existence here since 1844. At that time the village was not inhabited for the whole year – Gargellen’s few inhabitants have only spent the winters here since 1880.
At the end of the 19th century the tourist industry began to develop, firstly only in summer, on account of the fresh mountain air. In the years between the wars Gargellen began to develop into a winter sports resort. Since the end of the Second World War the tourist industry – and hence the village - has seen a steady increase. In 1950 the present-day road was built; in 1953 the first section of the Schafberg chairlift was opened.
The Sport &Vitalhotel Bachmann was founded as a guest-house in the year 1933 by Eduard and Reinhilde Bachmann. It originally consisted of a wooden chalet housing approx. 23 beds. In 1953 it was expanded into a hotel with 60 beds. In the year 1973 Hermann and Mathilde Nachbaur (nee Bachmann) undertook a substantial renovation, demolishing the original wooden house and building a modern 4-star hotel with 75 beds. In the years between 1975 and the present day, the hotel has been continually renovated and extended.
In 1989 Helmut and Margot Fritz (nee Nachbaur) took over the hotel, together with their two sons Daniel and Alexander.
Since then the interior of the hotel has been repeatedly renovated and lovingly restored with much attention to detail. In the years 1999 and 2000 we considerably enlarged and extended both the wellness complex and the children’s playroom. It is our aim to increase the energy efficiency in our hotel, and take great pride in improving this wherever possible.