Neue Thüringer Hütte

The Neue Thüringer Hütte is an Alpine Club mountain hut (Alpenvereinshütte) situated at 2,212 metres above sea level at the head of the Habachtal valley in the Hohe Tauern range, in the Austrian state of Salzburg. It is owned and operated by the Verein Neue Thüringer Hütte e. V., a registered association that functions as a Thuringian sections community within the German Alpine Club (Deutscher Alpenverein, DAV). Five DAV sections belong to the association: Apolda, Jena, Meiningen, Inselsberg and Weimar. The hut is a hospitality and accommodation facility for mountaineers, hikers and climbers rather than a conventional commercial retailer. It provides food, drink and overnight lodging in a remote high-mountain setting, and it serves as a base for summit tours and as a waypoint on multi-day traverses between other Alpine Club huts. Its location at the valley head of the Habachtal places it in the Venedigergruppe area of the Hohe Tauern, close to the Habachkees glacier. The present building is the third structure in a line of huts on this side of the Habachtal. Its predecessors were destroyed by avalanches, and the current hut was deliberately built at a more avalanche-safe site about one kilometre from the earlier locations. Construction began in 1971 on the Große Weitalm and was completed in 1972. Since 12 June 2002 the hut has been owned by the Verein Neue Thüringer Hütte e. V. From 2019 the hut underwent a modernisation programme. The kitchen was renewed and a new fire-protection concept was implemented. The building was extended: the former terrace area was built up over three storeys and a new, larger terrace was added, now oriented towards the Habachkees. The exterior walls began to be clad in larch wood, replacing the Eternit shingles previously used; these works have since been completed. Overnight capacity was not increased by the extension. Access to the hut is on foot. The normal route from the Gasthaus Alpenrose takes about 3½ hours, the Noitroi-Steig from the same starting point about 2½ hours, and the approach from the Gasthaus Habachklause in Bramberg about 5½ hours. From the hut, mountaineers can attempt peaks such as the Blessachkopf (3,050 m), Larmkogel (3,017 m), Roßlahnerkopf (2,997 m), Schwarzkopf (2,997 m), Hohe Fürleg (3,243 m), Plattiger Habach (3,214 m), Kratzenberg (3,022 m) and Schafkopf (2,922 m). Hut-to-hut transitions include the route over the Larmkogelscharte to the Neue Fürther Hütte (2,201 m, about 4 hours) and over the Schwarzkopfscharte to the Neue Prager Hütte (2,796 m, about 5½ hours). As an Alpine Club hut, the Neue Thüringer Hütte is part of the network of mountain refuges maintained by DAV sections and their partner organisations. Its identity is closely tied to the Thuringian sections that built and continue to support it, and to the history of avalanche destruction and rebuilding that shaped its present site and form.

The history of the Neue Thüringer Hütte is a story of repeated avalanche destruction and rebuilding in the Habachtal valley of the Hohe Tauern. Two predecessor huts stood about one kilometre south of the present building. The first predecessor, the Habachhütte, was built in 1897/1898 by the Berlin section of the DÖAV (Deutscher und Österreichischer Alpenverein). In the winter of 1913/1914 a powder avalanche destroyed the Habachhütte down to its foundation walls. After the Weimar section acquired the plot in 1922, the (Alte) Thüringer Hütte was built in 1925–1926 about 160 metres north-east of the destroyed Habachhütte. It was erected by ten Thuringian sections of the DÖAV — Apolda, Hildburghausen, Jena, Meiningen, Pössneck, Rudolstadt, Saalfeld/Saale, Schleiz, Schmalkalden and Weimar — which had joined together in a Gauverband (regional association). After the Second World War the German Alpine Club was banned, and in the GDR the ban remained in force until the end of the state. For a long time the original owners were therefore unable to look after the hut. In 1955 the Jena section was re-founded or had its seat transferred to Oberkochen; this section managed the hut in trust and, for legal reasons, renamed itself the Oberkochen section in 1972. It administered the hut until 2002. In April 1968 the Thüringer Hütte was also destroyed by a powder avalanche, and in 1969 a ground avalanche followed. Construction work on the Neue Thüringer Hütte began in 1971 at an avalanche-safe site about one kilometre away on the Große Weitalm, and was completed in 1972. Since 12 June 2002 the Neue Thüringer Hütte has been owned by the Verein Neue Thüringer Hütte e. V., the association of Thuringian DAV sections. From 2019 the hut was modernised. The kitchen was renewed and a new fire-protection concept was implemented. The hut was also extended, although overnight capacity was not increased. The former terrace area was built up over three storeys and a new, larger terrace was added, now oriented towards the Habachkees. In addition, work began on cladding the exterior walls with larch wood to replace the Eternit shingles previously used; these works have since been completed.

• 2019

  Modernisation begins: new kitchen, new fire-protection concept, extension with a larger terrace, and larch cladding replacing Eternit shingles.

• 2002

  On 12 June the Neue Thüringer Hütte passes into the ownership of the Verein Neue Thüringer Hütte e. V.

• 1972

  Construction is completed; the Oberkochen section is named (renamed from Jena section for legal reasons).

• 1971

  Construction of the Neue Thüringer Hütte begins on the Große Weitalm.

• 1968

  The Thüringer Hütte is destroyed by a powder avalanche in April; a ground avalanche follows in 1969.

• 1955

  The Jena section is re-founded or relocated to Oberkochen and manages the hut in trust.

• 1925

  Construction of the (Alte) Thüringer Hütte by ten Thuringian DÖAV sections (1925–1926).

• 1922

  The Weimar section acquires the plot of land.

• 1914

  The Habachhütte is destroyed down to its foundations by a powder avalanche in the winter of 1913/1914.

• 1897

  Construction of the Habachhütte by the Berlin section of the DÖAV (1897/1898).

A non-profit Alpine Club mountain refuge in the Hohe Tauern, run by a Thuringian DAV sections association for mountaineers and hikers.

• Mountain hut accommodation

  Overnight lodging for mountaineers and hikers at 2,212 m; capacity was not increased by the 2019 extension.

• Food and drink service

  Kitchen and refreshments for hut guests; the kitchen was renewed from 2019.

• Tour base and hut-to-hut waypoint

  Starting point for summits such as Blessachkopf, Larmkogel, Hohe Fürleg and Plattiger Habach, and for transitions to the Neue Fürther Hütte and Neue Prager Hütte.

1. 1Neue Thüringer Hütte – Wikidatawikidata.org
2. 2Neue Thüringer Hütte – Wikipedia (German)de.wikipedia.org
3. 3Neue Thüringer Hütte official websitenth-huette.de