Hotel Hofgut Sternen

An inn with 250 years of travellers

The Hofgut Sternen is at the bottom of the Höllental, the valley of the B31 road between Freiburg and Titisee, just where the Ravenna Gorge begins. Before it was a hotel it was the Wirtshaus unter der Steig, the inn at the foot of the hill, an obligatory stop for stagecoaches. Its own history says that in May 1770 Marie Antoinette stopped here, on her way to Paris to be married, with a retinue of 21 carriages and 450 horses; that Goethe passed through twice, and that Napoleon III also slept here. On the grounds is the chapel of St Oswald, consecrated in 1148, the oldest in the Upper Black Forest.

Today it is a large four-star hotel, with 107 rooms spread over four houses, as well as a glass-blowing workshop, a Black Forest souvenir shop and several dining rooms.

The rooms

The four houses have different characters. The SchwarzwaldHaus uses a lot of wood; the GlasHaus has design studios above the glass workshop; the GoetheHaus is one of the oldest inns in the Black Forest, and the RavennaHaus, the newest, is the one with reception. There are Komfort, Superior and Deluxe rooms. All have a safe, television, free wifi and what you need to make tea or coffee, and the price includes the buffet breakfast, from 7:00 to 11:00 in the SchwarzwaldStube. The website does not publish fixed prices: it says that booking directly with them is always cheaper.

Dogs may stay in the room with prior notice, for €19 a night, and may enter the restaurant. A cot costs €15 per stay.

Eating without going out

The SchwarzwaldStube is open every day from 12:00 to 22:00, with the kitchen until 21:00, also for those not staying at the hotel; they recommend booking a table. The menu mixes Black Forest recipes with vegetarian and vegan dishes.

Getting there and parking

By car, leave the B31 at Höllsteig, at the level of the Ravenna viaduct, and continue to the barrier. The hotel car park is free and there are electric car chargers (€30 a charge). Without a car, the nearest stations are Hinterzarten and Himmelreich, between 6 and 10 km away; from Hinterzarten you can walk along the Heimatpfad, which passes the door.

What is nearby

The Ravenna Gorge begins at the very door. Hinterzarten, Lake Titisee and Freiburg are reached quickly along the B31, and the Feldberg is up from Hinterzarten. In December, the gorge's Christmas market is set up beside the hotel, which sells packages with the ticket included.