"We can just do it in a joint effort," Erich Holzknecht explains, "while others can't do it anymore. A few quit every year." It is a fairly lonely life here at Wurzbergalm above Längenfeld in the middle of August. Is it just because it's a working day? Erich Holzknecht shrugs his shoulders. "Everything has changed. Until the 1980s, guests and especially families stayed here with us for 14 days in summer. There was even a skilift on the doorstep during the winter months." The Holzknecht family has been living on the mountain pasture for several generations. In 1960, the original building gave way to today's home but it is still the base for cultivating the surrounding mountain meadows and pastures.
"It's only possible if you have a really strong family," says Holzknecht. The five to six cows, the farm, the haymaking, the hard manual work - everything must work smoothly even if many guests visit us on weekends. Erich's wife and three daughters help wherever they can. Despite all the effort, it is also a life that makes you happy and satisfied at the end of the day. Also the many regular guests can feel it and reward the family with long-term loyalty. The Holzknechts keep their farm in good condition and also want to ensure sustainability by using modern technology. Erich wants to get away from diesel and install a photovoltaic system - a truly huge investment. But they will succeed at the end. If you trudge up here in winter - as well as in summer, you are certainly not alone on the groomed toboggan run. The toboggan run followed by a refreshment stop ranks among the leisure-time highlights for both guests and locals.