Trapp Family Lodge Explained

Hotel Name:Trapp Family Lodge
Former Names:Cor Unum
Location:Stowe, Vermont, U.S.
Address:700 Trapp Hill Road
Coordinates:44.4655°N -72.7452°W
Opening Date:1942 (original construction)
(reconstruction)
Owner:Trapp Family
Number Of Rooms:93 (main inn)
Floors:4
Parking:yes

The Trapp Family Lodge is a 2500acres resort located in Stowe, Vermont.[1] It is managed by Sam von Trapp, son of Johannes von Trapp of the Austrian musical family, the Trapps.[2] It was formerly known as Cor Unum (Latin for One Heart).[3]

History

The Trapp family was largely fictionalized in the 1959 musical The Sound of Music, which was loosely based on the 1949 book The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria von Trapp.[4] [5] Baron Georg von Trapp and his wife Maria left Austria shortly after its annexation by Nazi Germany in 1938 and settled with their family in Vermont in 1942.[6] After the Baron's death in 1947, the family expanded and operated their home as a 30-room ski lodge. The ski lodge was later expanded in 1968 to fit twenty more rooms.[7] It was destroyed by fire on December 20, 1980, forcing 45 people to flee in their nightclothes, including Baroness von Trapp. The body of a guest was found later in the rubble.[8] A new Austrian-style lodge with 93 rooms was opened in 1983.[1]

After the death of Maria von Trapp in 1987, 32 family members shared ownership of the lodge. Johannes von Trapp instigated a merger to eliminate the interests of other family members in 1994. Family members were displeased by the terms of the merger and fought back with legal proceedings about the amount to be paid to them in exchange for their shares, and the controversy went to the Supreme Court of Vermont.[9]

Facilities

The Lodge offers cross country skiing and mountain biking trails, fitness center, tennis courts, pools, and wagon and sleigh rides. The lodge houses a restaurant, lounge, and gift shop. As a working farm they produce their own maple syrup, raise Scottish Highland cattle, chickens, pigs, and grow their own vegetables for use in their three restaurants. [10]

The meadow at the Lodge was one of the principal sites for the annual Vermont Mozart Festival.[11]

Cross-country skiing

During the winter of 1968–69, Johannes von Trapp, then president of Trapp Family Lodge Inc., came up with an idea to start cross-country skiing trails at the Lodge. Currently there are of groomed trails and of un-groomed trails throughout the Trapp Family Lodge property.[1]

von Trapp Brewing

See main article: von Trapp Brewing. In 2010, the Lodge began to brew beer, initially under the name Trapp Lager. Now named von Trapp Brewing, it annually produces approximately of traditional German- and Austrian-style lagers. In 2016, the von Trapp Bierhall opened down the hill from the Lodge, serving food and beverages.[12]

Family cemetery

A cemetery in the grounds of the Lodge contains the graves of several family members, including Maria and Georg.[13]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Sam von Trapp back in family business . 2008-12-26 . Trapp Family .
  2. News: Stephanie. Clifford. Von Trapps Reunited, Without the Singing . He returned to Stowe to put the inn’s finances in order, and ended up running the place. He tried to leave, moving to a ranch in British Columbia in 1977 and staying a few years, then moving to a ranch in Montana. But the professional management in Stowe kept quitting. 'Now I’m stuck here,' he said. . . December 24, 2008 . 2008-12-26 .
  3. Book: Ransom, Candice F. . Maria Von Trapp: Beyond the Sound of Music . Carolrhoda Books . 2002 . 9781575054445 . 91.
  4. Book: Trapp, Maria A.. The Story of the Trapp Family Singers. 2001-12-24. William Morrow Paperbacks. 9780060005771. 1st. New York. en.
  5. "Music: Family Life in Vermont," TIME magazine (July 18, 1949)
  6. News: Tribute to Baron von Trapp Joined by Country He Fled . In 1942, the Baron and Baroness von Trapp wife bought a farm in Stowe and built the lodge, which burned in 1980, and was rebuilt. Some family members have continued to run the lodge as an inn and ski resort. . New York Times . July 14, 1997 . 2009-01-05 .
  7. News: Addition to Trapp Family Lodge Nears Completion . November 9, 2022 . The Burlington Free Press . June 25, 1968 . 9.
  8. News: Trapp Lodge Sued by Widow Over Husband's Death in Fire . A $5 million lawsuit has been filed by the widow of an Illinois man who was killed when fire destroyed the famous Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe. The lodge was destroyed Dec. 20th, 1980, forcing 45 people, including Baroness Maria Von Trapp, to flee in their nightclothes. . New York Times . November 8, 1981 . 2008-12-26 .
  9. In re 75,629 Shares of Common Stock of Trapp Family Lodge, Inc., 169 Vt. 82, 725 A.2d 927 (1999)
  10. Web site: Trapp Family Lodge. 7 April 2012.
  11. Web site: Vermont Mozart Festival calls it quits. 2010-12-23. Stowe Reporter. 7 April 2012.
  12. News: Prost! Von Trapp Brewing's new Bierhall offers good cheer and beer. Marshall. Hannah. 2016-09-14. Stowe Today. en.
  13. Web site: The von Trapp Story from Stowe, VT. trappfamily.com.