The Libero
Meeting with host Karl Anton Schütte from the Landhotel Gasthof Schütte
Oberkirchen is one of those idyllic little places where one half-timbered house follows the next. A typical Sauerland village. Even today, the sun illuminates the white façades with their dark-colored wooden artwork, and here and there a carved saying adorns the beams. In the middle of it all is Landhotel Gasthof Schütte. The seats on the terrace are all taken. We see how the hotel manager personally brings the Essen to the guests. A typical Schütte day: he is present and in the middle of the action, wherever he is needed. And now it's in service. It is his understanding of hospitality.
"If you don't do it with all your heart, you shouldn't do it."
Hosts with heart and soul
"I'm the libero who steps in when someone needs a hiking recommendation or something else. I want guests to feel that we are there for them as a family and that we look after them." Holidaymakers and locals come together at this place. Both appreciate the same thing: the excellent, down-to-earth cuisine and Sauerländer hospitality. Karl Anton Schütte is this in person. He probably doesn't like the fact that I'm writing this, because modesty is definitely one of his characteristics. But wherever I ask people about a typical host in the Schmallenberg Sauerland and the vacation region Eslohe the answer is always the same. The man from Oberkirchen is a source of inspiration and at the same time firmly rooted in regional tradition, and the development of his hotel is also closely interwoven with the history of the village, as he tells me.
We are sitting in the cozy Kutscherstube, the nucleus of today's hotel, so to speak. Almost 200 years ago, this is where the first travelers stopped for refreshments, who brought life to the quiet Oberkirchen to the quiet. However, the property can be traced back to the 15th century. It was once a farm leased by the church. Farming remained the family's core business for 500 years. However, an ancestor of Karl Anton Schütte was a co-founder of the Sauerländer mountain association in Arnsberg and sensed even then that the low mountain range could be attractive to travelers Werden. This is how the inn and later the hotel developed. Step by step, building by building, Karl Anton Schütte's parents expanded the business, but in such a way that the hotel continued to blend into the local landscape. He was born with the host gene, he tells us. "We all used to live in the house as a family. It wasn't just a place of work, Sondern it was also our home. There's a connection that you can't explain and is just there." When his father died suddenly, he unexpectedly had to take on the sole host role very quickly, but he never thought about doing anything differently Werden. "If you don't do it wholeheartedly, you shouldn't do it. The emotional bond with my family, the house and the place is so strong that I couldn't imagine doing anything else."
So many hours a day in the business, with all his attention on his guests: where does Libero prefer to relax? "In the forest," says Karl Anton Schütte, "when I'm out hunting for three to four hours, I completely unwind. I am then completely at one with nature, enjoying and observing." Satisfied guests are also a source of strength for him - as is his home: "I'm grounded here, I've created something here and have people around me who give me something, and hopefully it's the same the other way round."
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Personality, tradition and quality
What makes the region special in terms of accommodation are the many family-run businesses. They often have a centuries-old tradition. The accommodation also scores
with its exceptional comfort: here you will find cozy and warm mountain chalets with panoramic views, rooms in which the spirit of the times meets traditional elements, elegant SPAs and excellent Essen. You have the choice between 300 hosts!