Weber an der Wand

Useful Information

Location:	Seestraße 4, 83080 Oberaudorf. A93 exit Oberaudorf, to Oberaudorf, left onto Kufsteiner Straße, right into Seestraße. (47.643070, 12.173953)
Open:	Restaurant: all year Tue-Sat 17-24, Sun 11-24. Cave house: after appointment. [2012]
Fee:	free. [2012]
Classification:	Cave House
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:
Guided tours:
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Restaurant Weber an der Wand, Traudi Haslinger, Seestraße 4, 83080 Oberaudorf, Tel: +49-8033-302733. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1666	inhabited by hermits.
1794	purchased by the weaver Seybold, construction of cave house started.
1805	building in its current form completed.
1823	Czar Alexander I. of Russia.
08-AUG-1827	licenced.
1834	Friedrich Graf von Zech.
1835	M. Scheuchzer, Zürich.
1837	brothers Schleich, painters.
1843	Eugen Neureuther, painter.
1844	Prinz Adalbert von Bayern.
1845	Franz Xaver Gabelsberger.
1846	Herzog Maximilian von Bayern.
1849	Prinzregent Luitpold.
1854	new landlord is the son-in-law Christoph Schober.
1858	König Max von Bayern, Franz von Kobell, Karl von Pappenheim.
1858	the princes Ludwig and Leopold von Bayern.
1860	Marie Königin von Bayern, with her sons Prinz Ludwig (later König Ludwig II.) and Prinz Otto.
1866	Wilhelm von Kaulbach.
1895	Christoph Schober dies at age 80.
1904	purchased by Köglmeier family.
1960	uninhabited.
2007	reopened as a restaurant.

Description

The traditional restaurant Weber an der Wand (weaver at the wall) in Oberaudorf is a classic cave house. The existing cave at the foot of the cliff face was used to replace the back wall and part of the roof of the house. The rock face also offers more stability than a normal wall. The cave is a rather small cave, originally a karst cave with several small springs at the rear end. The cave has the same level as the first floor of the building, which extends into the cave in this level. The rear wall has a door into the remaining part of the natural cave which could not be used because of the irregular walls. Here is also an old wall, the origin of which is unknown. It was probably art of a hermits dwelling. The cave even has some speleothems.

During the centuries the cave was inhabited by five hermits. The first school lesson of Oberaudorf happened in this cave. There is a local legend about the last hermit who lived here: Hieronymus used the cave to build a small hut inside. The people from Oberaudorf were happy he was there, as he knew much about herbs and their healing properties. He collected therapeutic plants and had his own garden for herbs in front of his cave. With herbal medication he cured people and animals. In return the people of Oberaudorf supplied him with anything he needed for a living. When he ran out of something, he had bell he could ring, and then the people came to look after him. But one day, when they heard the bell again, they found him dead on his hard bed. He still had the bell rope in his cold hands, he must have died while pulling. So he pulled his own knell.

In the early 19th century the current building was erected by a weaver named Seybold. He was weaving in the building, but it seems he often had guests eating and sleeping at his house. It seems he had a sort of guest house, but he did not have the licence to sell alcohol. He was visited by Kronprinz Ludwig in 1823, who was very impressed, and when Seybold in 1827 requested the licence to sell beer and open a tavern, he granted it. This was the begin of the tavern Weber in der Wand.

The tavern soon had an excellent reputation, and dozens of famous and important people of the time went there. The guest-books contain the who-is-who of the Bavarian nobility. This popularity continued under his successor, his son-in-law Christoph Schober. Schober died age 80 and the restaurant was now owned by the Köglmeier family. Mrs. Köglmeier was known to grill a complete calf on Sundays, the servings were heavy, and there were days when the number of visitors was high enough to eat the complete calf. But this ended in the mid 20th century, and the building was empty and unused for decades. It was renovated and reopened only a few years ago.

The current restaurant is located in the front part of the building and has a nice beergarden. The cave is not regularly open, it can be visited after appointment. The restaurant offers local cuisine for a good price, the rooms are renovated in a typical Bavarian style. But the comments in internet portals are mediocre. Some people are happy with food and friendliness, others are annoyed. One guy was furious because he had to pay 50€ when his guests did not show up because of a traffic jam, which was obviously not his fault. Actually it is unknown in Germany to pay for a table in a restaurant, and even a deposit for a reservation is uncommon, but here the claim was made afterwards. Another guest was so impressed by the nice building and decoration so he made several pictures, and he was berated and threatened by other guests. The two domains of the restaurant are both defunct at the moment [2012] and a look at archive.org tells us that they were removed for good. Actually the modern restaurant is only poor copy of the historic original.