"Zum Storchen" philosophy

Enjoy naturalness
 

By the consequent use of only natural materials, we have created a decent and comfortable atmosphere.

 

 

Nature and design

 

Custom-made furniture made of quick-growing bamboo, oak parquet from sustainable forestry, untreated inlay carpet of sheep's wool, a house front isolated with natural cork, these are only a few aspects that make the "Storchen" unique.

 

 

Slowfood and Sustainability

 

As supporter of "slowfood" the sustainability does not stop in the hotel rooms.
We will cook for you lovely meals with fresh, saisonal and local ingredients.

 

 

Relax and Work

 

Start your day after a relaxed night in our comfortable boxspring beds with our lovely prepared breakfast with a view over the roofs of the city.
In our cosy sauna you can enjoy the silence and relax with a view to the old castle and the woods. Our modern conference room creates a creative atmosphere and will help you to get new impressions and motivations for work!

 


Your hosts

 

Are my husband and chef Christoph Trienen and myself, Astrid Trienen-Federspiel, with our three adorable children Julius, Elisabeth and our youngest, Johanna.

Furthermore, it includes our kind and dedicated staff who, in the spirit of my husband and myself, never tire in trying to make you feel welcome – yes, even a little bit at home.

Christoph and I both received traditional gastronomical training, perfectly preparing us for self-employment.

 

Having worked for several prestigious restaurants and hotels in- and outside of Germany, my husband and I met and fell in love at the well-known Heidelberg Hotel Management School. With our future self-employment in mind, we accumulated theoretical and practical knowledge, always evaluating what we could and could not use when we would finally set up our own business.  

 

In 2005, many events coincided! We got married and pregnant right away (oops), and we opened our homely restaurant “Zu den Linden” in Osnabrück, Germany – my husband’s hometown. There, we found our own way, cooked our own dishes, hosted weddings, birthdays and company events that went on until the early morning. We had two kids, made good friends and managed to acquire many regular guests who still like to visit us in the Black Forest.

 

After a few years in the “Linden-house” we began to dream of our own hotel. We wanted to expand, and because after eight years in Osnabrück, I felt drawn back to southern Germany, we started to look for a suitable property in Baden-Württemberg.

 

This is how, in 2013, we found our way to Waldkirch. How lucky we were! We started out with the restaurant and six cosy hotel rooms. When construction was finished, the annex added 22 further rooms to our home.

 

As soon as we went online, we had the fortune of welcoming people from all over the world! The challenge now was to keep up with the pace with which the business developed and to master the demanding day-to-day work despite initial insecurities. Soon after that, we were encouraged and reassured by the exceedingly positive feedback that we got from our guests. We knew, we were on the right track! Before we could manage to wrap our heads around the things that were happening, we had our first colourful, adventurous and sometimes chaotic and stressful summer in the Black forest behind us – including many intense encounters with our lovely guests.    

 

Since then, many things have changed. The insecurity is gone, procedures were organised and standardised, and we were fortunate to strengthen our team with charming and competent members.

What remained are the intense, interesting and often emotional encounters with visitors from all over the world. In our house, we don’t want people to check in or out. We want to welcome guests and say goodbye to friends. We invite you to see the way we think, the way we live, and we invite you into our family. It is our goal, for as long as you stay, to make you feel as though you were a part of the Storchen-family and to take that warm feeling home with you as a memory.

 

Yours,

The Trienen Family & Team


 

the history

  • The restaurant today known as "Storchen" was first mentioned in the 17th century as "Zum kleinen Bären" (little bear).
  • From 1655 to 1664 the restaurant was owned by Peter Farbet until his death. His widow and son tried to continue in his stead, but the son had stolen a chalice from church and had to leave the city and the widow had to sell the restaurant to a businessman from Freiburg. 
  • In the 18th century, ownership of the restaurant changed several times. Eventually the name "Zum kleinen Bären" was changed to "Zum Salmen" (salmon). The restaurant got the name because of the many salmons in the nearby river "Elz". 
    Joseph Hummel, the first owner of the restaurant "Zum Salmen", served more than 17.000 liters of wine between  1700 and 1705 - an average of 50 liters per day. 
  • Records cannot confirm this, but it is assumed that after further changes of ownership, the restaurant "Zum Salmen" was closed for good.  
  • In 1864, the brewer Karl Hoch opened a restaurant in the same building where he sold his homemade beer. He named it "Zum Storchen" because of the stork's nest on the roof. 
  • Many different brewers tried their luck, but in the end August Mutschler bought the building, produced his own "Mutschler beer" and different tenants sold his beer in the restaurant. 
  • For many gererations the restaurant was owned by the Mutschler family until Wilfried Oschwald bought the building in 1981. He then turned the restaurant to a music bar. Often, when locals visit us nowadays, they share their memoies and tell stories of that time.
  • After many different tenants, Wilfried Oschwald renovated the "Storchen" in the 90's. The whole building had to be demolished and only the front of the building could be saved. 
    Wilfried Oschwald used many of the old components and worked them into the new building, one example are the beams carrying the ceiling. 
    After long and intense research, the restaurant sign, thought to be lost in the war, was rebuilt and mounted on the house front, where it can still be seen today. 
  • In 2013, the construction work for the new hotel began. The "Storchen" got 22 extra hotelrooms, a conference room and a sauna in the process. 
  • On september 13 in 2013 we, the Trienen-family, opened the "Restaurant I Hotel Zum Storchen". In may 2014 the new hotel could be opened for our first guests. 

"Zum Storchen" philosophy

the history