The history of the hotel industry in Schoren begins in 1897 with the opening of the newly built Hotel du Lac. Planning for the new hotel construction certainly began as early as 1894 and 1895. Construction work likely commenced in 1896 and was completed in May/June 1897. Since no plans or construction accounts remain, the architect is unknown. However, the master builder is known. Karl Bühler, a master builder and Grand Councilor in Matten, had Ulrich Abegglen-Seiler issue a mortgage bond for CHF 25,000 on November 12, 1897, for part of his work on the new hotel building. The sales contract for the hotel furnishings dated May 22, 1897, and the guest night records started on August 5, 1897, lead to the conclusion that hotel operations began in August 1897.
What prompted Ulrich Abegglen (1852–1903) and his wife Margaritha Abegglen-Seiler (1856–1944) to build such a large-scale new hotel for Iseltwald remains unknown to us.
Based on the available documents, the financial situation after the hotel’s completion can only be partially reconstructed. The properties in Schoren, with a property tax value of CHF 71,730, were encumbered with mortgages totaling CHF 67,000 after the new hotel construction.
The construction and furnishing of the hotel seem to have required significantly more funds than originally assumed. This explains why Ulrich Abegglen put a number of plots up for public auction as early as November 1898 to reduce the debt burden. However, of the five plots offered, only the Blattacher and Senggboden were sold.
From the actual hotel operations themselves, only the guest night records, two hotel brochures, the restructuring files from 1937 to 1945, and the guest books still exist.
Operating figures, food and beverage menus, and other informative documents regarding the hotel and restaurant operations are completely missing until 1936.
With the early death of Ulrich Abegglen in 1903, his widow Margaritha was suddenly faced with an extremely difficult situation. With four minor children and three adult sons without specific training in the hotel industry, she managed a hotel operation with 22 rooms. In addition, the farm and the two other houses in Schoren had to be managed. Through the surviving inheritance inventories, we gain a more precise insight into the hotel operations for the first time. The economic situation of the business changed only slightly in the following years.
The hotel was seriously endangered in 1914 with the outbreak of the First World War. Foreign guests stayed away due to the war, and the Swiss had little
money available. In 1917 and 1918, interned soldiers and officers of the French army were accommodated in the hotel. This allowed operating costs to be somewhat covered. Through personal sacrifices, the commitment of the entire family, and the income from the farm, the house was also able to survive the economic crisis after the end of the war. In 1926, Margaritha Abegglen-Seiler (1856–1944) transferred half of the properties to each of her two daughters, Anna Margaritha (1884–1974) and Johanna Zimmermann-Abegglen (1895–1979). From 1930 to 1932, the hotel operation was leased to the third sister, Mrs. Magdalena Gilbert-Abegglen (1890–1935).
The debt burden now rose steadily, and in 1935/36, a restructuring of the business became necessary to avert threatening bankruptcy. Under the leadership of the Swiss Hotel Fiduciary Company in Zurich and with the active assistance of the Oberländische Hilfskasse in Bern, the first restructuring (composition agreement) was initiated.
This was accompanied by a settlement of ownership. Peter Abegglen (1882–1943), the previous tenant of the hotel, took over the share of his sister Johanna Zimmermann-Abegglen (1895–1979) at the price of the mortgage debts. At the same time, numerous creditors, including family members, waived claims totaling CHF… 68047.4034.
Peter ran the business until his death in 1943, with his son Fritz (1912–1986) also helping on his own account from 1938. He paid a weekly rent of CHF… to his sister Anna Margaritha. 20.-. After poor operating years due to the war, another restructuring had to be undertaken in 1941. Based on the ordinance on temporary legal protection measures for the hotel industry issued by the Federal Council on October 22, 1940, the two owners again applied for a judicial debt discharge.
When Margaritha Abegglen-Seiler also died in 1944, the time had come for a new settlement of the operating and ownership conditions. Fritz Abegglen continued to run the business after his father’s death. In 1946, he acquired the middle house but simultaneously had to have the hotel demolished due to a lack of economic viability.
Until 1974, he continued the restaurant and a limited hotel operation in the middle house.
In the old chalet, his aunt Anna Margaritha ran the guesthouse with 14 beds with varying success until the property was sold in 1964 to her niece Elise Bohren-Abegglen. A new chapter began in Schoren in 1974 with Fritz and Elsbeth Abegglen-Hohler. Through numerous renovations and new buildings, which required large investments, a hotel and restaurant business has emerged at the end of our century that is significantly larger than the one a hundred years ago. The opening of the national highway in 1988 can be described as an extremely important event. It brought a new upswing to Iseltwald, which certainly favored the investments in Schoren.
Today, the hotel offers 38 beds in the ***SHV category across 21 rooms. The restaurant has 260 seats. Since 1974, the number of employees has increased from five to thirty-five.
