THE SOCIAL REGISTER: Baron and Baroness von Pantz 1986

Baron Hubert von Pantz with his wife, the American-born Baroness Terry, and their pups, at El Rincon in Marbella, Spain, 1986, photographed by Slim Aarons 

The von Pantz family was one of the oldest noble families during the Hapsburg dynasty and were originally awarded their first title before 1450 by the Roman Empire.

In 1934, Hubert bought the medieval castle, Schloss Mittersill in The Alps located in the Pinzgau Valley in Tirol, Austria. The Baron converted the castle into the original 'Mittersill Club' as an escape to the European grandeur of the past. Rich American socialites and European royal families flocked to the Club where they could ski, play tennis, fish, stag hunt, and go horseback riding with reckless abandon.  

The original Mittersill club came to an abrupt end in 1938, when Austria was invaded during WWII. The Baron escaped to America and made his way to Franconia, New Hampshire to recreate his dream and in 1945, the Mittersill Alpine Resort opened. It is still in operation but no longer owned by the Baron who passed away in 1991.