The Bayerischer Hof is the last surviving building on Starnberg’s Bahnhofplatz to have remained unchanged since the Gründerzeit era. As such, it stands as the architectural memory of the moment when Lake Starnberg transformed from a ducal retreat into a fashionable summer destination for the emerging bourgeoisie.
Where today the railway, the passenger boats, and the lakeside promenade converge, Starnberg’s premier address for travelers emerged in the 1860s and 1870s. Located at Bahnhofplatz 12, the stately building welcomed summer visitors, members of the House of Wittelsbach, regulars gathering at their Stammtisch, wedding parties, and generations of café patrons for more than 150 years.
When the Bayerischer Hof was forced to close at the end of 2020 due to the risk of structural collapse, Starnberg lost not only a hotel but also its oldest public gathering place on the lake. With its acquisition by the European Heritage Project in December 2025, a new chapter began in the history of this remarkable historic monument.
PURCHASE SITUATION
After five years of vacancy, several failed investor selection processes, and a Europe-wide concept competition that lasted more than two years without producing a viable outcome, the Bayerischer Hof reached a decisive turning point in 2025. The Town of Starnberg, which had owned the property since 1969, was no longer able to finance the restoration of the listed building from its own resources. Expert assessments estimated the cost of the necessary conservation and repair works at approximately €15 million. At the same time, the building had for decades remained at the centre of recurring debates over demolition and redevelopment.
Against this backdrop, the European Heritage Project acquired the historic property with the explicit commitment to carry out a comprehensive restoration in accordance with the requirements of monument preservation. In addition, the European Heritage Project guaranteed the revival of the building’s historic gastronomic use on the raised ground floor, where the house café had been located for generations. The acquisition marked the European Heritage Project’s second undertaking in Starnberg, following the Palais Sonnenhof, which has formed part of its portfolio since 2002.
THE PROPERTY: FACTS & FIGURES
The Bayerischer Hof is situated at Bahnhofplatz 12 in the centre of the Upper Bavarian town of Starnberg, directly opposite the railway station and within sight of Lake Starnberg. The property extends across approximately 2,000 square metres and, together with the station forecourt and the adjoining lakeside promenade, forms the urban gateway to the town.
The exact date of construction cannot be established with certainty, as no dated architectural plans have survived. The Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation places the building’s origin between 1865 and 1879. Local historical literature generally cites 1864–65, while the official register of monuments lists the building as dating from “around 1875.” The subsequent phases of construction, however, are well documented. Around 1875, the street-facing terrace extension with its grand double-flight staircase was added. In 1901, a southern extension introduced an elevated terrace and balconies, followed by further additions in 1905. Since 1998/99, the entire property has been entered in the Bavarian Register of Historic Monuments, including the western annex and the ornamental fountain roundel in front of the main façade.
The principal building is an imposing three-storey structure with a gabled roof and a projecting central bay. To its east lies a circular flower bed with a fountain, forming the forecourt to the building. Adjoining the west side is a two-storey gabled annex with a balcony, dating from around 1875, which historically served as the carriage house and service building. Until its closure in December 2020, the property accommodated 31 hotel rooms, a café on the raised ground floor, and a restaurant in the vaulted basement.
HISTORY
The history of the Bayerischer Hof is inseparably linked to the opening up of Lake Starnberg as one of Bavaria’s foremost destinations. In 1851, the paddle steamer Maximilian entered service on the lake, and on 28 November 1854 the Munich–Starnberg railway was inaugurated as Bavaria’s first privately financed railway line. Within only a few years, Starnberg’s population grew by more than one third, while an entire ensemble of hotels and guesthouses emerged around the newly created station square, among them the Bellevue, the Walter, the Hirt, the Deutsches Haus, and the Bayerischer Hof.
A travel guide published in 1879 already described the Hotel zum Bayerischen Hof as a newly built, elegant, and comfortable establishment, ideally situated between the railway station and the lake. From 1880 onward, Johann and Theresie Harffen are documented as proprietors, and for many years the hotel was also known locally as the Hotel Harffen. In 1905, ownership passed to the House of Wittelsbach, represented by the Ducal Bavarian Brewery of Tegernsee (Herzoglich Bayerisches Brauhaus Tegernsee). In the same year, the vaulted basement was converted into a restaurant, establishing a gastronomic tradition that would continue for more than a century.
The turbulent events of the twentieth century left their mark on the building. During the revolutionary unrest of 1919, members of the Red Guard occupied the hotel, and throughout the Second World War it served as a military hospital. In 1952, the owning family commissioned a comprehensive refurbishment of the property, explicitly preserving its historic architectural character.
In 1969, the Town of Starnberg purchased the Bayerischer Hof from Duke Max in Bavaria for 1.125 million Deutsche Mark. Over the following five decades, the property remained under municipal ownership and was leased to successive operators, most notably the renowned hotelier Rudolf Gaugg, who managed the establishment from 1984 until 2009 and became well known far beyond the town itself. He was succeeded by the Schrogl family of restaurateurs.
Remarkably, in 1980 the Bavarian monument authorities still considered the building unworthy of statutory protection. Only in 1998/99 was it finally entered into the Bavarian Register of Historic Monuments—a decision that surprised many observers. The designation explicitly covered the entire ensemble, including the western annex, the grand staircase, and the ornamental fountain roundel. By then, however, the fabric of the building had already begun to deteriorate.
In 2011, the upper floors were declared unfit for use for the first time. In December 2020, the hotel, café, and restaurant were ordered to close completely because of severe structural deficiencies. From September 2021 onward, the Bayerischer Hof stood vacant, and in 2022 its entire interior inventory—571 individual lots—was auctioned off..
THINGS TO KNOW AND CURIOSITIES
According to local tradition, one of the Bayerischer Hof’s most distinguished guests was Empress Elisabeth of Austria. Having spent her childhood at nearby Possenhofen Palace, she is said to have visited the hotel with her entourage while the royal residence accommodated official guests. Historical accounts further relate that the Empress’s carriages, together with those of King Ludwig II, were kept in the carriage house behind the hotel, while the coachmen and stable hands were quartered in the upper floor of the annex.
Other remarkable traces of the building’s past have survived. An ice cellar at the rear of the property once stored natural ice harvested from Lake Starnberg for cooling purposes. The room that later became the tavern had originally served as the coal cellar, while the café on the raised ground floor was initially used as storage space. The upper floors still preserve the narrow servants’ staircase and their noticeably lower ceiling heights—clear reminders of the social hierarchy that characterised a grand hotel of the nineteenth century.
During the stripping-out works in 2026, a number of long-hidden historic features re-emerged on the ground floor, including the richly ornamented stucco ceiling of the former café, the original reception desk, gilded mirrors, and the sign of the King Ludwig II Room. To reinforce the historical identity of the future café, the European Heritage Project also acquired a bust of Prince Regent Luitpold, recalling the building’s long-standing connection with the Bavarian royal family.
Finally, the municipal purchase of the Bayerischer Hof in 1969 became part of a wider land exchange intended to facilitate the construction of a long-promised civic hall on Kirchplatz—a project that, despite decades of discussion, was ultimately never realised.
ARCHITECTURE
The Bayerischer Hof is an imposing three-storey building with a gabled roof and a projecting central bay, constructed in solid masonry and deliberately conceived as a representative landmark facing Bahnhofplatz. Along its principal façade, a terrace projects towards the square, accessed by a grand double-flight staircase, while an ornamental flower and fountain roundel forms the eastern forecourt. Together, these elements continue to define the visual character of Starnberg’s station square. The southern extension of 1901 introduced an elevated terrace with balconies, further reinforcing the building’s function as a place where architecture and outdoor leisure were closely intertwined.
Architecturally, the Bayerischer Hof belongs to the Historicist movement of the Gründerzeit, displaying distinct characteristics of early spa and resort architecture. The monumental open staircase, generous terraces and balconies, ornamental water feature, strict axial composition, and carefully articulated façade all create an impression of elegance and stature without aspiring to the grandeur of a palace. Rather than a luxury palace hotel, the Bayerischer Hof was conceived as a distinguished establishment for the prosperous middle-class visitors who spent their summers on the shores of Lake Starnberg.
Adjoining the main building to the west is a two-storey annex with its own gabled roof and balcony, dating from around 1875. Historically, this building housed the carriage house, stables, and coach sheds. Today, the Bavarian monument authorities regard it as an integral part of the protected ensemble. Consequently, statutory protection extends not only to the principal building but also to the annex, the grand staircase, the fountain roundel, and both the interior and exterior fabric of the entire property.
Within the main building, the original staircase, the historic structural walls, and the nineteenth-century room layout constitute the most significant elements of the protected historic fabric. By contrast, many alterations introduced during the twentieth century are regarded as intrusive additions. These include, in particular, the small en-suite bathrooms inserted into every guest room during the 1970s and the later conservatory-like rooftop extension, both of which disrupted the building’s original proportions and architectural coherence.
STRUCTURAL CONDITION AT THE TIME OF ACQUISITION
At the time of its acquisition, the Bayerischer Hof had stood vacant for more than four years and had been entirely closed to public use since December 2020. The findings of the various engineering reports presented a remarkably consistent picture of advanced structural deterioration.
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Roof Structure: According to structural engineers, the timber roof framework had been inadequately dimensioned from the outset. Decades of woodworm infestation and persistent moisture penetration had further weakened its load-bearing capacity, while the sheet-metal roof lacked an effective moisture barrier. Under conditions of heavy snowfall, parts of the roof were considered to be at risk of collapse.
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Floors and Balconies: The load-bearing capacity of the intermediate floors and balconies was found to be severely compromised throughout the building. Structural deflections of up to ten centimetres were recorded, and one of the upper-floor balconies had been supported only by temporary timber props.
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Foundations: Structural calculations could no longer verify the building’s overall stability. Specialists concluded that the house most likely rests on a historic timber-pile foundation, a construction method commonly employed in areas with high groundwater levels during the nineteenth century. Because of these groundwater conditions, the construction of an underground car park beneath the property is considered technically unfeasible.
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Fire Protection: The building no longer met even the most basic contemporary fire safety standards. Essential fire doors were missing, escape and rescue routes were inadequate, sections of the electrical installation still employed fabric-insulated wiring, and modern residual-current protection devices had never been installed.
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Building Services: The heating system, electrical installation, and gas supply all exhibited substantial deficiencies. Most critically, the drinking water system was heavily contaminated with Legionella bacteria, exceeding permissible health limits by a considerable margin and rendering the entire installation unusable from both a technical and hygienic perspective. The replacement of the water supply system alone was estimated to cost approximately €2 million.
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Building Fabric: Extensive moisture damage had caused widespread cracking in the masonry, while large areas of ceiling plaster had detached, particularly around the principal staircase.
In 2020, the district building authority concluded that restoring the Bayerischer Hof would exceed the cost of constructing a new building, largely because replacing the deteriorated floor structures would effectively require a complete gutting of the interior. It was precisely this course of action that the European Heritage Project ultimately adopted—not as an argument against preserving the monument, but as the indispensable prerequisite for securing its long-term survival.
RESTORATION
Restoration work commenced on 12 January 2026, less than three weeks after the purchase had been legally completed. The initial phase focused on clearing the building and reclaiming the grounds, which had become heavily overgrown during years of neglect. By early summer 2026, the entire structure had been stripped back to its essential fabric. Floor constructions, parquet flooring, carpets, and wall panelling were removed, interior plaster was stripped from the walls, and the complete structural framework was exposed.
Only after this extensive investigation could the true extent of the damage be assessed. The results confirmed that the roof structure, intermediate floors, and balconies would require complete replacement throughout, while the historic masonry itself proved to be fundamentally sound and fully capable of conservation.
The guiding principle of the project is the faithful restoration of the building’s appearance as it existed around 1910, following the extensions of 1901 and 1905. The program of works therefore includes:
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the conservation and restoration of the original staircase, historic windows and doors, and surviving timber ornamentation;
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the complete reconstruction of the roof structure and all deteriorated timber beams, together with the structural reinforcement of floors and balconies;
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the removal of intrusive twentieth-century alterations, particularly the small en-suite bathrooms inserted into the historic guest rooms and the later rooftop conservatory extension;
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the reinstatement of the original room proportions on the upper floors;
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the discreet integration of all infrastructure required for long-term use—including a second escape route, a lift, and entirely new building services—in a manner fully compatible with the historic fabric;
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the restoration of the grand staircase, terraces, fountain roundel, and western annex; and
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the continuous coordination of every intervention with the Bavarian monument preservation authorities.
The total investment amounts to approximately €15 million. Completion is anticipated well before the contractual deadline at the end of 2030.
CURRENT USE
The Bayerischer Hof will no longer operate as a hotel. The nineteenth-century room configuration can no longer be run economically under present-day conditions, and insisting on its original use would once again have placed the preservation of the historic building at risk. Instead, the property is being transformed into a mixed-use building that restores its long-standing public role at Bahnhofplatz.
The raised ground floor will once again accommodate a traditional café, continuing the legacy of the historic house café. Named after Prince Regent Luitpold, it is intended as an open meeting place for residents, local associations, visitors, and travellers—a role that has been absent from Starnberg since the building’s closure in 2020.
The vaulted basement and adjoining garden will house a traditional Bavarian restaurant with a beer garden, re-establishing the gastronomic use that has characterised this part of the building since 1905.
The Beletage and upper floors will be converted into six to seven residential apartments ranging in size from approximately 60 to 90 square metres. The attic level will provide staff accommodation, together with a residents’ lounge and a roof terrace overlooking Lake Starnberg and the Bavarian Alps.
In its new form, the Bayerischer Hof returns to what it has always been: not a museum, but a living, inhabited, and actively used place. As the first building encountered by visitors arriving in Starnberg by train, it will once again serve as the town’s welcoming gateway—an architectural landmark that combines historic continuity with contemporary public life.
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