History

How the Seefischer got its name

"Laxn for the Kaiser"

Fishing has always played a major role in Döbriach.So on 14 August 1457, Emperor Friedrich III, as lord of the County of Ortenburg and bailiff of Millstatt, granted fishing rights in a charter for the lower part of Lake Millstatt and the stream at Döbriach. He stipulated that the monastery had to deliver to the Imperial Court every quarter, i.e. four times a year, „59 speckled salmon trout“ (spotted lake trout), which are larger than the „common customs trout“ (brown trout), and instructed his captains, stewards, burgraves, vicegerents, provincial judges, judges and officials to leave the monastery the fishing rights undisturbed. On 17 November 1465, Emperor Friedrich III ordered Abbot Christoph II of Millstatt to leave the fisherman Enz in Döbriach on the estate where he was then living – a rather unusual step for that time. This estate was the foundation and namesake for today's Hotel Seefischer.

From farmers' barn to Hotel****s

Today's Hotel Seefischer on Lake Millstatt was once a so-called „Bauernhuab’n“. The meadows belonging to it then stretched as far as near today's Hotel Zanker and to the Waldbauer in Dellach.

Originally, Seefischer was owned by Johann Oberzaucher, whose son received a pub licence for the property – the first for this house! The son transferred his property to his foster son Johann Gatternig. In 1946, he exchanged Seefischer for the property of Daniel Untermoser – the area where the „Laggerhof“ stands today.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the first guests from Vienna and Graz discovered the beautiful bathing beaches in Döbriach. The first lido was built by Seevilla Cerny. There, women and men still had to bathe separately. Shortly afterwards, Seefischer opened its own bathing area. One of the first guests of Seefischer was Karl Seitz, the first Federal President of the Republic of Austria and later Mayor of Vienna. He first came to Döbriach around 1910 and spent many summers on holiday at Seefischer.

The Untermoser family ran Seefischer for 15 years. In 1961, the family of the current owners acquired the site and expanded the hospitality business into a guesthouse. In 1973, Sissy Florian took over the guesthouse from her aunt. After extensive renovations, extensions and additional land purchases, Seefischer became one of the leading hotels on Lake Millstatt.