The Trapp Family Lodge is a 2,500-acre (10 km2) 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]
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 67 kilometres (42 mi) of groomed trails and 100 kilometres (62 mi) of un-groomed trails throughout the Trapp Family Lodge property.[1]
In 2010, the Lodge began to brew beer, initially under the name Trapp Lager. Now named von Trapp Brewing, it annually produces approximately 60,000 US gallons (230,000 L; 50,000 imp gal) 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]
The family cemetery in 2022. Maria's grave is at the center
^Clifford, Stephanie (December 24, 2008). "Von Trapps Reunited, Without the Singing". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-12-26. 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.
^Ransom, Candice F. (2002). Maria Von Trapp: Beyond the Sound of Music. Carolrhoda Books. p. 91. ISBN9781575054445.
^"Music: Family Life in Vermont," TIME magazine (July 18, 1949)
^"Tribute to Baron von Trapp Joined by Country He Fled". New York Times. July 14, 1997. Retrieved 2009-01-05. 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.
^"Trapp Lodge Sued by Widow Over Husband's Death in Fire". New York Times. November 8, 1981. Retrieved 2008-12-26. 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.
^In re 75,629 Shares of Common Stock of Trapp Family Lodge, Inc., 169 Vt. 82, 725 A.2d 927 (1999)
