Fill, shoes and orthopaedic shoes

History
The origins of this family of cobblers dates back to the 19th century
in Chiusa, where they’d opened their first shoemaker’s workshop,
Fill, in 1871. In the 20th century, one of the family’s son remained in
Chiusa, while the other moved to Bolzano to Piazza Gries where today
you can find Café Menz (see p. 147). The current owner’s grandfather
– Karl Fill – built the building of today’s Fill premises in 1961,
boasting space for a shop, show workshop, and an apartment. Since
2022, the third Bolzano generation has been running the business,
led by siblings Patrizia and Horst, while Werner (Karl Fill’s nephew)
and Waltraud, the second generation, still help out.
Stand-out traits
We know how important it is to wear comfortable shoes. Here
is where you can go the extra mile: the store sells special socks,
insoles, shoelaces and shoeshine as well as comfortable shoes for
women, men and children – and even babies! It boasts a vast range
of regular shoes, slippers, and mountain boots all united by the fact
they’re extremely comfortable to wear. Horst Steinhauser is the current
owner and completed his training as an orthopaedic specialist
and shoemaker in Austria. He then worked in Innsbruck and Munich before opening his workshop in the Gries neighbourhood 20 years
ago where he’s been “solving problems with his feet” ever since.