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The story undertaker Brünhilde Blum (played by Anna Maria Mühe), who uncovers a murderous conspiracy after the death of her husband and goes on a revenge rampage, is now also thrilling audiences worldwide. Streaming giant Netflix and the Austrian state broadcaster ORF have set the crime series in the mountains of Tirol, including the resort of Kühtai, the Ötztal Valley and the Venet mountain. Instead of dazzling sunshine, clear blue blue skies and lush green meadows or bright white snow – the typical Tirolean image – the series presents a much darker atmosphere far from the picture-perfect Tirol tourists will be familiar with.
The novel "Totenfrau" (in English: "Woman of the Dead") is the first volume of Bernhard Aichner's trilogy about the undertaker Brünhilde Blum. With half a million copies sold in German-speaking countries and translations into 17 languages, it is an absolute crime thriller bestseller: dark, passionate and quite bloodthirsty. Capturing this mood was of particular concern to the filmmakers of the Netflix series. "They wanted to have these in-between seasons when the mountains are not white with snow but rather mottled. So they chose the ‘ugliest’ time to film. But it's cool that not everything is so clean and perfect," says Bernhard Aichner, “because the world in which 'Totenfrau’ is set is anything but clean.’
"The way Blum's hearse winds its way up the switchback corners of the Ötztal Glacier Road is extremely cool to watch," says the author. The drone shots finally convinced him that his protagonist Blum (Anna Maria Mühe), her family and funeral parlour would be better off located in the countryside rather than in the stylish and much-sought-after Saggen district in the city of Innsbruck.
The house where the story begins, with the accidental death of Blum's husband, is perched at over 2,000 metres above sea level. "The film team and a location scout from Cine Tirol looked at a great many locations, but in the end they opted for Kühtai," says Aichner, who is already looking forward to winter: "I like to go skiing in Kühtai myself. In future, I will always have to think of the fact that the Blum family lives right next door."
The location, the a farmstead called Kühtaier Hof, together with the 3-Seen-Haus and the Jagdschloss Kühtai, forms the Jagdschloss Resort. Here, where Emperor Maximilian once went hunting, you can stay in a stately or modern residence, always with the scent of wood in your nose and a sensational mountain panorama in front of your eyes. Kühtai has a long tradition as a popular ski resort and, during hot summers, as a region for hiking and mountaineering. Thanks to its high altitude it attracts professional athletes for training camps, while people with hay fever enjoy the clean air with low levels of pollen.
Back to the Ötztal Valley and the winding roads where Blum swaps her hearse for a Ducati motorcycle when hunting for murderers. Spoiler alert! At the Ötztal Glacier Road toll station, there is a shocking moment which will take your breath away – and we're not talking about the toll fee.
From Sölden, the road leads further into the Ötztal Valley all the way to Hochsölden, Vent and Gurgl and from there over the Timmelsjoch ridge to Italy. Cyclists who like to take things easy can use the cycle path from Haiming to Sölden, while downhillers will find plenty of trails rated easy, intermediate and difficult in the Bike Republic Sölden.
The public transport system in the Ötztal Valley is also geared towards sports. Every bus in the local bus network operates with a bike trailer in summer and takes passengers to the lifts in Sölden, Gurgl and Vent every 10 minutes in winter. What does that have to do with Brünhilde Blum? The heroine of the series has her Ducati repaired in the garage where local buses are normally serviced. "A huge garage with only one customer," laughs Aichner, "but it looks great."
In “Totenfrau”, the sky, forests and gorges, glaciers and streams combine to create a mountain backdrop against which people are murdered, loved and investigated. And what is going on down in the valley? Nothing good, because on the banks of the Inn near the village of Roppen there is a dead body. In fact, Bernhard Aichner says, "it's a nice place to swim". In summer, you can lie here in the fine sand, let the sun shine on your face and dip your feet into the clear water to cool off.
Hochgurgl makes its grand appearance as "Bad Annenhof", one of the scenes of the murderous goings-on. The fact that this is a winter sports hotspot is clear from the first glance at the glaciers in the background. In front of them lies the elegant "Hotel Schönborn", where entrepreneur Johanna Schönborn pulls the strings. "Michou Friesz plays the role just perfectly," says Bernhard Aichner. “The character is a man in the book, but in the series they made him a woman, and it works very well.”
The name of the hotel has also been changed. The Hotel Schönborn is actually the Hotel Riml, a ski and spa resort in Hochgurgl. At 2,200 metres above sea level, guests can relax in the pools and saunas or play indoor golf. Adventure awaits those who enjoy mountaineering, climbing or skiing on the slopes right outside the front door.
Getting on the cable car in Reutte and arriving at the Venet mountain near Zams? It's a journey that only works in the movies! After all, the two places are 65 kilometres apart. However, the locations of these two filming locations each have a lot to offer.
The Hahnenkamm mountain in Reutte is the perfect region for hikes to mountain huts and lodges in summer as well as for skiing and ski touring in winter. Highlights include a barefoot path and disabled-accesible access to many of the attractions in the area.
The Venet mountain is a popular family ski resort in winter with plenty of natural snow, adventurous snowshoe hikes and ski tours. In summer, hiking and biking trails take you up into the high peaks. However, the most extraordinary attraction can be found by fans of astrology. Despite its proximity to the busy Inn Valley, it is very dark at night on the Venet mountain, so that the starry sky can be seen in all its glory from the observatory at the top of the cable cars.
Two years after the beginning of her revenge campaign, undertaker Brünhilde Blum finally returns for a second series. Part two of the trilogy was also shot at many locations in Tirol. "The fact that so many outdoor shots are in Tirol is of course particularly nice," says Bernhard Aichner, creator of the hit series, who set the thriller in and around Innsbruck. And visitors can also look forward to a great deal, because the locations where the beautiful – and sometimes dark – images were shot offer a wide range of experiences: spa days, endless ski runs and road bike tours, for example. Scroll down to see where series two of "Totenfrau" was filmed
Unlike the first season, where Hochgurgl was the village of Bad Annenhof, the village of Kühtai is where the Blums and Schönborns live in the second season. This is also obvious, because the Blum family home was already in the high-altitude ski resort in the first season. In both seasons, the Blum family lives in the Kühtaier Hof, which used to be the home of the Count of Stolberg and is now an annex of the neighbouring Schlosshotel. Guests of the Kühtaier Hof stay in luxurious rooms in a country house style and enjoy the same view as Blum, taking in the vast mountain world and the adjacent ski resort.
In the second season, other locations in Kühtai were used as stages for the series. Not only a few smaller secondary locations such as the bus stop (‘Nela and Alex forever’), the polling station and the Bar 2020 (in the actual Sporthotel Kühtai) can be found in the small mountain village, but also the Hotel Schönborn. This is staged in the Hotel VAYA, which not only in the film leaves hardly anything to be desired – from ski-in ski-out to your own private sauna and a panorama terrace. Treat yourself!
Kühtai is located at 2,020 metres above sea level, making it the highest ski resort in Austria. However, a bit of trickery was used in the Netflix series. Although the mountains in the film footage are all real, a few mountains that are actually in the Kaunertal Valley were also smuggled into the picture in one shot or another.
Of course, an undertaker needs a cemetery. However, since there is no such cemetery in Kühtai, the production team quickly moved to Ladis. This small town, together with the towns of Serfaus and Fiss, is located on a sunny plateau above Prutz and is best known for its sulphurous and acidic springs, whose water is said to have healing properties. The fortress that can be seen in the background of the cemetery is Laudegg Castle, which was first mentioned in 1239 and can be visited in summer.
What would Brünhilde Blum be without her motorbike? In the second season she can be seen riding her Ducati on several roads in Tirol. Visitors to Kühai will recognise a few of the scenes shot in the village of Sellrain on the way to Kühtai.
Here – more precisely in Gries – is also the petrol station that can be seen in several episodes. If you happen to be passing by, you should take a short hike, for example to St. Sigmund. That is where the refugee accommodation (Alpengasthaus Lüsens) is located, where Reza takes Tim when events take a turn for the worse. The scene in which Blum's hearse drives through the night was also shot here at the Gleirschalm car park. By the way, during the day you can take a short hike or toboggan tour to the hut of the same name, where freshly cooked Tirolean food is served. Continuing along the Sellrain road, you will soon reach the gallery through which the undertaker drives in several episodes, and a few hundred metres further on you will finally reach Kühtai.
Other motorcycle scenes were also shot on the Kaunertal Glacier Road, particularly popular with cyclists in summer, and the Haiminger Bundesstraße road, where the American diner ‘Oilers 69’ (the restaurant where Wallner eats with Lambert) is located.
Brünhilde Blum is also out and about in the regional capital of Tirol, Innsbruck, and all the locations can be reached on foot. Start with a stroll through the narrow and winding streets of the medieval city centre (Stiftgasse, Badgasse), where small cafés invite you to take a break away from the crowds. After that, how about a bit of culture at the Hofburg palace (the office of the mayor in the series) and lunch at Woodfire on Universitätsstraße, where you will find the largest selection of steaks anywhere in town (and which features in episodes 4 and 5 of series 2). If you still want to visit Chez Nous, you can spend some time in the city (for example in the Hofgarten, which is not a location for the series but is still worth seeing) and in the evening walk to p.m.k. (‘Chez Nous’), where a cultural initiative offers a varied programme.
In the second season of "Totenfrau" there is finally a cameo appearance! After Blum saves herself from the burning car in the third episode, jumps into the lake (incidentally, Lake Achensee) and finally drags herself to the shore in the forest (near Area 47 in Oetz), a black car pulls up next to her. The driver? None other than the author and creator, Bernhard Aichner. A case of Brünhilde Blum meeting her maker – quite literally! In the podcast Hörausflüge (German) Aichner explains that he always wanted to put in a cameo appearance, adding: “I have the greatest respect for all the actors and the job they do.”
Last but not least, would like to reveal one more location. After all, the opulent villa in which Sarkissian lives is really too beautiful to keep to ourselves. In real life is Chalet G12 on the Gschwandtkopf mountain near Seefeld. This luxurious and stylish chalet is located right next to the top of the cable car whisking passengers up onto the Gschwandtkopf mountain and accommodates guests in four holiday apartments. However, the interior photos were taken in a private home – so if you want to see what the real interior of Chalet G12 looks like, take a look at the gallery on their website or, even better, book a short holiday there.
