Franzenhof has been in family ownership since at least the 17th century. Since then, numerous generations have worked to preserve the inherited and adapt it to the requirements of the present. Until the late 1950s, many people lived and worked on the farm: the entire family pitched in, and even the children had to help early in the morning before going to school. Farmhands, maids, unmarried family members, and, after the war, a refugee family who had found refuge on the farm, worked from morning until evening. During the harvest season and in the forest, day laborers from the village also helped. However, gradually, these workers migrated to the emerging factories around Lake Constance, where they could earn better, and human labor was replaced by machines. The first tractor with a wood gasifier caused a stir during the war. Tractors, threshing machines, milking machines, etc., made their way onto the farm. Bulls took over the horse stable.
Until the end of 2010, the farm was operated as the main agricultural enterprise with dairy cattle, crop farming, forestry, and a distillery. A stroke of luck was that in 1993, after the birth of our sons, we began to build a second pillar with initially two vacation apartments. Tied to the farm by the dairy cows, we brought the wide world into the house and discovered our passion for guest care. The fire in the cowshed in the summer of 1994, initially a catastrophe and a huge challenge, then gave us the opportunity to expand the "farm vacation" with the construction of the vacation house in 1998.
Low milk prices, an outdated milking system, and the lack of a future perspective forced us to give up dairy farming in 2010. Until the end of 2017, a small herd of beef cattle still inhabited the large cowshed. Since then, animal husbandry at Franzenhof has only had a hobby character.
In the early 2000s, we seized the opportunity to install photovoltaic systems on our roofs and could now cover our electricity needs autonomously.
Since spring 2021, Farmer Gustel has handed over his farm to his son Alexander, who is consistently converting the operation to organic farming.
