Rieder Hütte

Rieder Hütte is a mountain hut (Schutzhaus) of the Austrian Alpine Club (Österreichischer Alpenverein), operated by its Sektion Ried im Innkreis. It stands in the eastern part of the Höllengebirge in the Salzkammergut region of Upper Austria, near the Feuerkogel. The hut's local mountain is the Große Höllkogel, at 1,862 m the highest peak of the Höllengebirge. In both summer and winter it is a popular destination for hikers, ski tourers and snowshoe walkers. The hut was built by the Sektion Ried im Innkreis of the DuOeAV and opened on 1 December 1930. Initially it was an office barrack that had become surplus after construction of the Feuerkogel cable car. In 1945 it served as a refuge for a group of resistance fighters around Albrecht Gaiswinkler who had parachuted over the Feuerkogel. In 1973 the hut was destroyed by fire; it was rebuilt in the following years and reopened in summer 1977. Access is from Langwies or Steinkogl in the Traun valley (about 440 m) via the Vordere Spitzalm (4.5 hours), or from the Feuerkogel cable-car mountain station (1,560 m) in about 2 hours. Nearby walking destinations include the Große Höllkogel (1,862 m, about 30 minutes), the Kleine Höllkogel (1,788 m, about 15 minutes), the Alberfeldkogel (1,707 m, about 1.5 hours) and the Eiblgupf (1,813 m, about 50 minutes). Transitions lead over the Grünalmkogel and Pfaffengraben to the Hochleckenhaus in about 5 hours, and to the Feuerkogel huts and Feuerkogel in about 2 hours. The hut has had many tenants (Hüttenwirte) over the decades, from Adolf Vogler (1931–1933) through Engelbert Sternbauer (1974–1998) to Stephan Jobke from 2024. The Rieder Hütte is also associated with the long-unsolved disappearance of 17-year-old Georg Koppelstätter, who vanished on 26 December 1943 after setting out from the hut; his remains were found in 2016 and identified in 2018.

Rieder Hütte was built by the Sektion Ried im Innkreis of the DuOeAV (Deutscher und Österreichischer Alpenverein) and opened on 1 December 1930. Initially the hut was an office barrack that had become surplus after the construction of the Feuerkogel cable car. In 1945, it served as a refuge for a group of resistance fighters around Albrecht Gaiswinkler who had parachuted over the Feuerkogel with the aim of killing Goebbels. In 1973 the hut fell victim to a fire and was completely destroyed. It was rebuilt in the following years and reopened in summer 1977. A tragic episode in the hut's history is the disappearance of Georg Koppelstätter. On the second Christmas holiday of 1943 (26 December), the Rieder Hütte was the starting point of an outing during which the 17-year-old Georg Koppelstätter from St. Martin im Innkreis disappeared. Koppelstätter, son of bakery owners, had gone to the hut with seven friends to celebrate his birthday. After arriving, he returned alone to the mountain station of the Feuerkogel cable car to fetch his forgotten accordion, but never arrived there. Koppelstätter's disappearance remained unexplained for 75 years and was considered one of Austria's oldest missing-person cases. His parents initiated numerous search operations in the Höllengebirge and placed newspaper advertisements worldwide in the hope of receiving news of their son. In 2016 human remains were discovered in the doline 'Große Quetsche' in the Höllengebirge, near the Rieder Hütte. These were recovered in 2018 and identified as the mortal remains of Georg Koppelstätter. In early October 2018 Georg was buried in his parents' grave. His father had died in 1951, his mother in 1984. The hut has been run by a succession of tenants (Hüttenwirte): Adolf Vogler (1931–1933); Karl and Hedwig Neuhuber, Gmunden (1933–1941); Hr. Drack, Grünau (1941–1943); Maria Puchinger, Ebensee (1943–1952); Toni Gebhart and Berta Hopf, Neukirchen (1952–1955); Ernst Hainbuchner, Schwanenstadt (1955–1960); Max Aspelmayr, Linz (1960–1962); Helmut Baier and Karl Huber (1962–1964); Helmut Seidenbusch (1964–1967); Karl and Sonja Höller, Neukirchen (1967–1970); weekend operation (1970–1973); the hut was completely destroyed by fire in 1973; Engelbert Sternbauer (1974–1998); Ernst Winkler (1998–2001); Elisabeth Hölldobler (2002–2007); Tilo Wolf and Annemarie Schablinger (2007–2010); Peter Pruckner, Wesobrunn (2011–2012); Daniel Weber, Nürnberg (2013–2018); Jochen Holtmann and Susi Geier (2018); Günter Hausjell (2019–2022); and Stephan Jobke from 2024. Access to the hut is from Langwies or Steinkogl in the Traun valley (about 440 m) via the Vordere Spitzalm (4.5 hours), or from the mountain station of the Feuerkogel cable car (1,560 m) in about 2 hours. Well-known walking destinations near the hut include the Große Höllkogel (1,862 m) in about 30 minutes, the Kleine Höllkogel (1,788 m) in about 15 minutes, the Alberfeldkogel (1,707 m) in about 1.5 hours, and the Eiblgupf (1,813 m) in about 50 minutes. Transitions lead over the Grünalmkogel and the Pfaffengraben to the Hochleckenhaus in about 5 hours, and to the Feuerkogel huts and the Feuerkogel in about 2 hours.

• 2024

  Stephan Jobke became hut tenant from 2024.

• 2018

  The remains were recovered and identified as Georg Koppelstätter; he was buried in early October 2018.

• 2016

  Human remains were discovered in the 'Große Quetsche' doline near the hut.

• 1977

  The rebuilt hut reopened in summer 1977.

• 1973

  The hut was completely destroyed by fire.

• 1945

  The hut served as a refuge for resistance fighters around Albrecht Gaiswinkler.

• 1943

  Georg Koppelstätter disappeared after leaving the hut on 26 December 1943.

• 1930

  Rieder Hütte opened on 1 December 1930.

Alpine Club mountain hut offering shelter, food and overnight accommodation for hikers and ski tourers in the Höllengebirge.

• Mountain hut accommodation

• Food and drink service

• Overnight stays

1. 1Rieder Hütte official websiteriederhuette.at
2. 2Rieder Hütte - Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Rieder Hütte - Wikipedia (German)de.wikipedia.org