The original owners of the mountain hut in question, Hans and Rosl Mader, often frequented the guesthouse and jumped at the chance to take possession of the stove and install it in the hut, which was newly built at that point and just a few hundred metres away.

With a lot of effort, the heavy stove was transported uphill in 1968 and installed in a kitchen measuring around five square metres, where it remained in service for over 50 years until the spring of 2020. The stove was used a lot for cooking, but mainly for heating.

Over the years, countless guests at the Maders’ hut were able to enjoy Aunt Rosl’s delicious apple strudel baked in the Hoval appliance – and the Maders have even passed the recipe on to us:

Mum’s apple strudel:

Take 3 heaped cups of flour, then make a well in the centre of it and add a little salt, 1 tsp salad oil and 1 egg to it. Then add around ¾ cup lukewarm water.

 Mix with a fork, then knead well until the dough comes away easily from the surface. Place in a plastic bowl, cover and leave to rest for ½–1 hour. Then stretch out thinly on a tea towel.

 Filling: Mix 500 g quark with a little sweet or sour cream. Brush this onto the dough. Spread apples (chopped up small), raisins and sugar over the dough. Place in a roasting tin with some clarified butter and milk, and bake at 180°C for about ½ hour.

The oven was perfect for both cooking and baking, and wasn’t disconnected from the power supply until 2012. The stove part heated the kitchen until spring 2020.

We – Sabine and Georg Länge – had been familiar with the goings-on at the hut for over 30 years before we took it over in 2019.

Unfortunately, the stove/oven combination no longer complied with the latest fire protection regulations, so it was with a heavy heart that we were forced to dismantle our precious old piece of kitchen equipment. We then came up with the idea of asking Hoval whether there was any interest in this well-preserved gem.

The removal of the stove was a special experience for the two Hoval colleagues and ourselves. In beautiful weather – against a magnificent mountain backdrop – we all learned a lot about the history and quality of the stove construction. In just one day, our stove was disassembled into individual parts, cleaned and expertly reassembled out in the open countryside.

We would like to thank Hoval and its friendly staff for their enthusiastic assistance, and are delighted that our little old stove has found a second home with you.

Kind regards, Sabine and Georg Länge