Hotel Bären Ringgenberg

Hotel Bären has a long history in Ringgenberg. The original inn stood on the old village road. When the new main road was built in 1850, the business moved closer to the passing horse-and-cart traffic. The first building on the site of today’s hotel was constructed by Christian Steiner in 1902 and opened as Pension Edelweiss. Beside its garden restaurant stood a small pavilion named Joliette, used for concerts and village performances.

In 1908/09, a hall was added to Pension Edelweiss and the Joliette pavilion was incorporated as a theatre stage. The new venue soon became popular with local associations for meetings and performances. The property was later renamed Hotel Adler. After its owner encountered financial difficulties and left in 1912, the Volksbank Interlaken took over the property in 1913. It was sold to Karl Kappeler in February 1920 and then to master painter Peter Zimmermann in July of the same year.

Peter Zimmermann obtained the restaurant licence of the former Bären inn and also acquired its carved bear sign. Pension Edelweiss, later known as Hotel Adler, was then renamed Hotel Bären. Despite many structural changes, the hotel has kept this name ever since. The historic bear carving, made by Christian Frutschi-Schilt, still adorns the façade today.

In 1924, the Hofer family bought Hotel Bären from Peter Zimmermann. Mr Hofer managed the hotel for ten years before leasing it to his son Hermann in 1934. The difficult economic climate made business challenging, and Hermann Hofer left the hospitality trade in 1937. Werner Kaiser then became the tenant and remained until 1940.

In 1940, Babette Feuz and her husband took over the hotel after previously running Hotel Bellevue in Niederried. Her husband died in 1942, and the workload became too much for her alone. She moved to Hotel Schönegg in Goldswil in spring 1943. Gottlieb Schmocker followed as the final tenant under the Hofer family. At the end of 1944, the property was sold to Christian Egger from Grindelwald, who carried out further renovations with local tradespeople.

On 1 May 1948, Gottfried Künzli and his wife Mina Künzli-Stress bought Hotel Bären. They modernised the guest rooms with hot and cold running water. After Gottfried died in 1957, their son Eduard and his wife Hildegard took over in 1962. Extensive renovations continued through 1968, expanding the hotel for larger groups. Kuno and Annemarie Zundel later became the owners. On 1 June 2021, they handed management to their son Sascha Zundel and his partner Jasmina Perinotti. Hotel Bären reopened on 1 December 2021.