Regional Mountain Conference

The historical region of Tyrol has always been a corridor of transit.  Particularly in the Middle Ages, transalpine passenger and freight traffic was of great importance. This fostered – compared to other regions – a disproportionately well-developed hospitality sector, which in many towns became one of the most significant economic factors. As central sites of provisioning, communication, and the exercise of power, inns and hospitals also shaped the social life of medieval Tyrol in both urban and rural contexts. Despite their importance, the inns of medieval Tyrol have so far received insufficient scholarly attention.

This dissertation is the first to systematically examine inns and the hospitality trade in medieval Tyrol, thereby addressing a major research gap. It aims to provide a comprehensive analysis from social, cultural, economic, and legal-historical perspectives. The first part traces the diachronic development of inns. The second part focuses on the groups who operated them and on the function of inns as sites of everyday practices, situated between social interaction and conflict. In addition, the study investigates their economic significance, the legal frameworks governing the trade, and selected aspects of cultural history.

Methodologically, the study is based on the combined analysis of diverse types of sources, including travel accounts, Urbare, and normative texts, especially Weistümer. The integration of quantitative and qualitative approaches, together with microhistorical case studies, makes it possible to illuminate both structural developments and specific local contexts.

By focusing on innkeepers and inns as independent social and economic actors, the dissertation opens up new perspectives on previously understudied areas – particularly rural regions and non-noble population groups – and broadens our understanding of everyday life, social history, and economic history.