Franz Anton Wiese was the progenitor of the Wieses at the Jagdhaus. He earned his living as a charcoal burner. According to a deed dated 23 March 1842, he bought "a field on the Schneisberg, 3 acres, 122 rows and 35 feet" from the Feldmann siblings from Niederfleckenberg for the sum of 70 thalers. This land was subject to an annual charge of 5 Spind Hager Wormbacher Maß to be paid to the Reichsfreiherr von Fürstenberg at Kloster Grafschaft, which was transferred to the purchaser.

Franz founded Haus Wiese here in the same year. He did not live to see the start of tourism, which his son Franz Klemens Wiese was to give a decisive impetus to.

Klemens Wiese and his young wife must have realised early on that they should try their luck with a pub due to the incomparably favourable location of Jagdhaus. The application for a licence was rejected for the first time in 1873 and for the second time in 1874. Finally, on 13 November 1878, the Royal District Office in Meschede sent what today could be called the birth certificate of tourism in Jagdhaus under order number 6266, with the following wording:

"Licence

The farmer Klemens Wiese zu Jagdhaus is hereby granted permission to operate the inn in the house located in the municipality of Grafschaft, registered under No. 2 of the land register, with the warning that serving alcoholic beverages to recognised drunkards designated as such by the police authority will result in the loss of this licence, which will also occur in the case of §§ 53 and 143 of the trade regulations of 21 June 1869."

This laid the foundation for a completely new source of income. Klemens Wiese, whose purpose in life was to clear forests with hard work and unrivalled perseverance in order to increase his farmland and thus lay the foundations for the further expansion of the farm, left the management of the young business to his wife Ferdinande and their growing daughters. When Franz Adolf Wiese was born on 24 October 1883, his joy was so great that he decided to enlarge the house for his son and heir.

Klemens Wiese died in June 1897 at the age of 61. His life's work, the expansion of the farm to 52 acres, was to pave the way for his son's future endeavours. The guests of that summer proved their devotion and interest in the continued existence of the house by their actions. They decided to increase the pension price because they felt that Mother Ferdinande Wiese could not possibly make a living at the previous prices.

Franz Adolf Wiese took over his parents' legacy, expanded it further and made it famous far beyond the borders of the Sauerland.

After his apprenticeship at the Hotel Middendorf in Dortmund, he returned home at the age of 19. His entrepreneurial spirit and the new ideas he brought with him from the city did not initially meet with the approval of his older relatives. But Franz had recognised the signs of the times. He increased the livestock, extended the stables and brought the house up to the latest technical standards.

After his mother died in February 1910, the entire burden of responsibility for the burgeoning business fell on his young shoulders. Time passed in restless labour until the beginning of the World War brought everything to a standstill. The difficult years of war and inflation meant even more suffering for Franz Wiese after both his first and second wife died within four years. Since then, his sister Bertha Tröster, who had lost her husband in 1919, stood by his side as a loyal helper. She ran the household and stood in for his five children. Franz took particular pleasure in his nature park, which he created in 1911 and has continued to expand ever since.

Once inflation had been overcome and the mark was once again considered a measure of value, Franz Wiese also regained the courage and will to create something new. With numerous conversions and extensions, he continued to create new guest rooms and enlarged the kitchen and dining room. In all his endeavours, he was driven by a single ambition: to expand his down-to-earth family estate in such a way that it could stand on firm ground even in difficult times. He created a cosy inn, adapted to the character of the landscape.

With deep piety and unshakeable faith, he was the originator and driving force behind the construction of the Hubertus Chapel in 1936. He courageously dared to swim against the tide and set this example in a time of increasing godlessness.

Time did not stand still, and after the end of the war, Franz Wiese soon began new remodelling and renovation work to keep his hotel in Schmallenberg attractive.

He also stood his ground in public life. From the early 1930s, he was an arbitrator for the municipality of Fleckenberg. In 1939, he was appointed as an official elder and local councillor. In 1945, he was appointed head of the village. For his services to the construction of the Hubertus Chapel, he was awarded the "Pro ecclesia et pontifice" cross of honour by Pope Pius XII on his 70th birthday in 1953.

He always cultivated the atmosphere of his hotel and led the country hotel in the Sauerland region to an unexpected level of fame. If you were lucky enough to be invited to the "Kontärchen" at around 6.00 pm, he invited you to "split" a bottle of "Filzener Herrenberg" with him. In conversation, you got to know a clever, modest man from whom you could get advice and help. He was certainly not a child of sadness. After all, he himself said that it was the fault of those who spent their holidays at the hunting lodge. Many a bottle of wine was uncorked in his company late at night. But if the time was already too late and the waves of merriment were overflowing, he would give a short and concise order: "Blagen, int Berre!", and everyone submitted to the natural authority of the landlord.

Franz Wiese died after a richly fulfilled life at the age of 74, loved by his family and friends, appreciated by his community and among his professional colleagues, known for his sense of justice and neighbourly help, as a representative of genuine Sauerland folklore. He harmoniously combined loyalty to the church, a conservative and progressive attitude to life and mind, intelligence and the will to achieve, working on a small scale and thinking big, a joyful affirmation of life and tenacity in difficult times.

His eldest son Clemens Wiese inherited the large estate. As his marriage remained childless, he and his wife Elvira adopted Bernd Gerlach, the second son of Adalbert Gerlach and his wife Gertrud, née Wiese, from the Siele farm near Olpe.

Clemens Wiese was a born architect. He was fascinated by technology from an early age. He was not born to be an innkeeper and hotelier. Nevertheless, he never hesitated to accept his inheritance and take over the management of his parents' steadily growing business. The kitchen and cellar grew under his hand, and when rooms were remodelled, he drew the initial plans himself and always put his own ideas into practice. In close collaboration with the Jagdhaus artist and architect Hinrich Grauenhorst, he created cosy nooks and crannies throughout the house, where guests could feel comfortable and secure even in bad weather. The culmination of his building activities was the Härdlerhaus, completed in 1972. For the first time in Haus Wiese, it offered modern and spacious, sunny balcony rooms with every comfort.

Like his father Franz, who always called himself a "farmer and innkeeper" with a certain pride, Clemens Wiese was also deeply rooted in nature and the countryside. He enjoyed working on his farm and caring for the park, lawns and plantings was particularly close to his heart.

Clemens was always extremely reserved and modest in character. The well-being of his guests was his top priority. In the evenings, when he sat with them over wine, he often regaled them with his anecdotes and amusing stories. Sometimes he would sit down at the piano late at night to play for a dance in a small circle. For midnight refreshment, he invented the "Wolkenschinken" (cloud ham), which quickly became a household name for many late-night revellers.

From 1976 onwards, Clemens Wiese delighted his guests by occasionally playing the piano during dinner. Many a guest, who certainly didn't want to diminish the achievements of the kitchen, said back then that the best thing about the evening cold buffet was the piano playing of "Grandpa Wiese".

Yes, he had become a grandfather in the meantime. In 1974, they celebrated their wedding at Wiese's house. Bernd Wiese-Gerlach had forged new ties between Jagdhaus and Milchenbach and married Elisabeth Oberstadt. Clemens Wiese, who had no biological children of his own, now enjoyed his grandchildren Thomas, Stefan, Monika and Michael. He still took Thomas, the eldest, for a walk in his pram.

A serious illness struck him far too early. He was not allowed to enjoy the fruits of his restless life in the tranquil peace of old age. Clemens Wiese died in 1982, two days before Christmas Eve. On his 71st birthday, 27 December 1982, he was laid to rest in the cemetery in Fleckenberg.

Since then, Bernd Wiese-Gerlach and his family have run the traditional country hotel in the Sauerland. Bernd Wiese-Gerlach, who had completed his training at the world-famous hotel management school in Lausanne with honours, was - like his ancestors - always keen to further improve the comfort of the hotel. In the years following Clemens Wiese's death, he renovated the entire hotel and, in particular, brought the technical facilities up to date. The most outstanding renovation and remodelling measures were the addition of extra storeys to the Härdlerhaus and the renovation of the wellness area in 1984 and 1991.

The addition of six comfortable rooms and suites to the Härdlerhaus was also used to harmonise the architecturally somewhat unfortunate wing of the building with the architecture of the main building.

With the construction of the new wellness area in 1991, Bernd Wiese-Gerlach capitalised on a trend that almost exploded in the following years. The new area, which replaced the hotel's 25-year-old swimming pool, was equipped with an 86 m² pool with a counter-current system, fountain, massage jets and waterfall, as well as a whirlpool, sauna and steam bath, a Kneipp pool and a vitalising sun.

Bernd Wiese-Gerlach was very keen to open up the hotel to young guests and families. Hikers and day guests were also welcomed with warm hospitality.

After more than 30 years of service, it was a great pleasure for Bernd Wiese-Gerlach and his wife Elisabeth, who had always accompanied and supported him in his endeavours to run the family business, to hand over the reins to their second son, Stefan Wiese-Gerlach, in December 2005.

Since then, Stefan Wiese-Gerlach and his wife Katia Herrlitz have been running the hotel in Schmallenberg in the 5th generation, endeavouring to continue and expand the 150-year-old heritage in line with the needs and wishes of the guests.