The Prägant family – out of tradition to the Hotel Prägant

The Prägant family has been in the Kirchheim Valley for a long time. The “Kirschner-Hube”,now the site of the hotel and apartments, has been owned by the Prägant family since 1851. Matthias Prägant came from Styria to Ebene Reichenau and subsequently to Kleinkirchheim.
As well as an extensive agricultural property, the Prägant family also ran a shop and the “Kirschner” guesthouse – later named the “Prägant” after its owners.
After the Second World War, the property was extended and modernised. The guesthouse became ever more prominent and popular. Many events such as the fire brigade social events, singing festivals and weddings were held. However, the shop was closed down in 1972. Today the guesthouse has been turned into the attractive apartments with the Hotel Prägant right next door.

Above all we have Franz Prägant, the grandfather of the present junior manager Michael Prägant, to thank for Bad Kleinkirchheim becoming a popular tourist venue. He had a substantial involvement in this, starting from the central water supply right through to the electrification of Bad Kleinkirchheim in 1954.
As the Prägant guesthouse became increasingly popular, in 1970 grandfather Franz Prägant decided to build the present-day Hotel Prägant. But when Franz died in 1973, two of his sons, Franz and Heimo, took over the hotel and the inn (original building). The business was converted to modern standards by means of further renovations. Franz Prägant junior, who was involved in business in England, the USA and South Africa, came home at his father’s request to take the hotel over. Franz, who was also an enthusiastic pilot, brought a number of new virtues with him to the Kirchheim Valley. He valued cooperation, tolerance and vision and was the embodiment of friendship and hospitality, which made him a popular resident of the up-and-coming tourist metropolis of Bad Kleinkirchheim. With his passion for flying, he was also able to bestow magical hours spent on wonderful round flights over the mountains and lakes of Carinthia on many of his guests and the local residents. From early on he began to work together with hoteliers in Bad Kleinkirchheim and joint events and marketing concepts were created (such as Top 4* hotels). The fact that nowadays there is true cooperation in the form of Harmony’s in Bad Kleinkirchheim can be ascribed to his affiliative nature as the “founding father”.

Unfortunately Franz junior died very young – he was only 43 – in 1990. Since then his wife Irmgard, the mother of 3 sons, has successfully run the “smallest” of the Harmony’s hotels and made it a refuge for individualists. Irmgard Prägant continues to be a central point in the cooperation between the hotels and has the “numbers” firmly under control. Since March 2009 the 4th generation has already been involved. After spending a few years abroad and studying in Graz, Michael Prägant took over the management of the hotel.

Now Michael would like to uphold the family-based hospitality, together with his girlfriend Kerstin, son Philipp Franz (born in August 2009) and the gentle support of his mother Irmgard. It may have been late happening, but Michael has also been infected by his father’s passion – flying. He can often be spotted up on the mountains around Bad Kleinkirchheim with his paraglider. Michael’s two brothers – Christian, a croupier at the Casinos Austria, and Stefan, a globetrotter and restaurant manager in Taipei/Taiwan, can also often be seen in the hotel.