The Story of Hotel Elephant Austrian surrealism.

The Italian Alps is the location of this particular hotel named after Soloman, an Indian Elephant, that was brought all the way from Lisbon to Vienna as a gift for the Archduke Maximilian of Austria.  

The story surrounds the Hotel Elephant is mind-blowing, almost surreal, even Jose Saramago, the Portuguese Nobel Prize in literature, was so captivated by the story of Soloman’s journey, that he eternalised it in a book inspired by this tale.

In this video, we tell you what happened with the Elephant that crossed Europe by foot, and was hosted for 55 days in Brixen until reached its destination in Vienna.

The hotel Elephant is very well-known in South-Tyrol, located in Brixen, a small town in northern Italy with many historic jewels to visit. Be sure to go to the baroque-style Cathedral with a sumptuous marble interior or to visit the Romanesque cloister with medieval frescoes. In the Bishop’s Palace, the Diocesan Museum exhibits medieval and Renaissance art, plus a collection of crèches. You will also love to see the Gothic White Tower features 4 bay windows. For the sports fans, Brixen offers the Plose, a mountain to the southeast, with marvellous trails and ski slopes.

Grab your popcorn and have fun!