Beginnings and Owners
From Agricultural Expert to Spa Visionary
In 1881, Rimski Vrelec was purchased by Kosmas Schütz, one of the most prominent Carinthian experts in agriculture and education in the 19th century. As the secretary of the Carinthian Agricultural Society, director of the Agricultural School in Klagenfurt, and the first traveling agricultural teacher in Austria, he significantly influenced the development of agriculture, cooperatives, and the dairy industry. For his work, he received the Golden Cross of Merit with the Crown and the title of Imperial Councilor.
1881
After taking over Rimski Vrelec, he began an extensive renovation of the spring and the construction of the spa, which he completed with a major renovation in 1887 under the guidance of the Viennese expert Adolf Czernicki. This enhanced the reputation of the spa and the quality of the water, which was also confirmed by laboratory analyses. He promoted the mineral water, spa, and resort of Rimski Vrelec under the edelweiss flower brand, symbolizing courage, perseverance, and a love for nature.
1887
After Schütz’s death in 1905, the management of the spring and spa was continued by his son-in-law Ernst Osiander, who had already taken over this task more than a decade earlier. Osiander was a systematic, enterprising, and socially active man. He expanded the estate, strengthened trade links, and significantly influenced the development of Rimski Vrelec as well as Ravne na Koroškem, where he purchased the Javornik estate and mansion in 1913. Under his leadership, Rimski Vrelec became a vibrant economic and social center. Its development was halted by the First World War, in which Osiander lost his first-born son.