Biberacher Hütte

The Biberacher Hütte is a Category I mountain hut (Schutzhütte) belonging to the Biberach section of the German Alpine Club (Deutscher Alpenverein, DAV). It stands at 1,846 metres above sea level in the Lechquellen Mountains (Lechquellengebirge) within the municipality of Sonntag in the Austrian federal state of Vorarlberg. Built in 1911, it was the first Alpine Club hut in the Lechquellen range and remains a traditional Bregenzerwald-style building with its shingle cladding largely intact. The hut sits south-west of the Schadonapass (1,840 m), a historic crossing between the Bregenzerwald and the Grosses Walsertal. Nearby peaks include the Glattjöchlspitze (2,106 m), the Rothorn (2,239 m), the Gigelturm (2,112 m) and the Hochkünzelspitze (2,397 m), the latter being the hut's local mountain. Valley access points are Schröcken to the east and Buchboden to the west. The hut lies on two long-distance trails, the European E4 (alpine) and the red variant of the Via Alpina, and is the starting point of the Lechquellenrunde, which continues to the Göppinger, Freiburger, Ravensburger and Stuttgarter huts. Its only neighbouring hut is the Göppinger Hütte (2,245 m), about 4½ hours away. Originally opened with eleven beds and ten mattress places, the hut now offers a total of 110 overnight places including a winter room, following a major reconstruction between 1978 and 1980. It is run by a tenant couple from St. Leonhard in the Pitztal, who took over in 2016. The hut is a well-known base for hiking and mountaineering in the Bregenzerwald and Grosses Walsertal regions, and it celebrated its centenary in July 2011 with a mountain service and mountain rescue demonstrations.

The Biberacher Hütte was built by the Biberach section of the German and Austrian Alpine Club (DuÖAV), prompted by a notice in the club's Mitteilungen No. 17 of September 1909, which observed that there were still regions in the Alps where one could walk for two or more days without finding an alpine inn — specifically the two-day stretch between Bezau and Langen. On 31 October 1909, section members scouted a suitable site and chose the area around the Schadonapass. The hut was constructed in the style of Bregenzerwald houses, with shingle cladding that has largely survived to the present day. At its opening in 1911 it offered eleven beds and ten mattress places, and it was the first Alpine Club hut in the Lechquellen Mountains. After the Second World War, the hut was forcibly administered by the Austrian Alpine Club. With only the meagre income from hut operations available for its upkeep, the building suffered. It was only on 30 June 1956 that the Biberacher Hütte returned to the ownership of its founding section, which also received the keys back from the Vorarlberg section on 2 September of that year. A first phase of structural improvements between 1965 and 1968 brought an organised water supply, a sewage treatment plant and a generator house. The general reconstruction took place between July 1978 and July 1980 at a cost of more than 700,000 Deutsche Mark. Almost all material was flown to the site by helicopter in around 800 flights. The sleeping capacity was expanded to 110 places — eleven beds in four rooms, three further rooms with 32 mattress places, two rooms with 47 mattress places, and 20 places in the winter room — and the dining room was enlarged. An annex housing, among other things, a tenant's apartment was added, along with a large cellar and improved sanitary facilities. After water, wind and solar power were ruled out as energy sources, the Biberacher Hütte was connected to the public electricity grid by 2002. In July 2011 the hut's centenary was celebrated with a mountain service and demonstrations by the mountain rescue service. After the long-serving tenant from Schröcken died suddenly in 2015, his widow gave up the lease; since 2016 a tenant couple from St. Leonhard in the Pitztal has run the hut.

• 2016

  A tenant couple from St. Leonhard in the Pitztal takes over the running of the hut.

• 2015

  The long-serving tenant from Schröcken dies suddenly; his widow gives up the lease.

• 2011

  The hut's centenary is celebrated in July with a mountain service and mountain rescue demonstrations.

• 2002

  The hut is connected to the public electricity grid.

• 1978

  General reconstruction starts in July and lasts until July 1980, costing over 700,000 DM and expanding capacity to 110 places.

• 1965

  First structural improvements begin (lasting until 1968), including water supply, a sewage plant and a generator house.

• 1956

  On 30 June the hut returns to the ownership of its founding section, which receives the keys back from the Vorarlberg section on 2 September.

• 1911

  The Biberacher Hütte opens with eleven beds and ten mattress places; it is the first Alpine Club hut in the Lechquellen Mountains.

• 1909

  Biberach section members scout a site near the Schadonapass on 31 October, prompted by a September notice in the Alpine Club's Mitteilungen.

A traditional Category I Alpine Club mountain hut serving hikers and mountaineers in the Lechquellen Mountains, valued for its historic Bregenzerwald architecture and central location on long-distance trails.

• Overnight accommodation (110 places including winter room)

• Dining room and meals for hikers

• Winter room

1. 1Biberacher Hütte – Wikidatawikidata.org
2. 2Biberacher Hütte – Wikipedia (German)de.wikipedia.org
3. 3Biberacher Hütte – Sektion Biberachalpenverein-biberach.de