Weichtalhaus

The Weichtalhaus is an alpine hut and alpine training and climbing centre operated by Naturfreunde Wien (the Vienna section of the international Naturfreunde movement). It stands at 547 metres above sea level at the south-western foot of the Schneeberg in Lower Austria, near the left bank of the Schwarza in the Höllental valley and at the entrance to the Weichtalklamm gorge. The first Weichtalhaus was built by Naturfreunde Wien in the early 1920s and opened in 1922. It served hikers, climbers and mountaineers for decades, offering around 70 sleeping places (11 beds and 60 mattress places) before it had to be closed at the end of October 2013 because the building stock was no longer technically or economically viable to renovate. It was demolished in autumn 2014. Between 2014 and 2015 a new Weichtalhaus was built at a cost of around one million euros. The three-storey replacement has 580 m² of usable floor area and was designed among other things as a training and climbing centre. It again provides 70 sleeping places (beds and mattress places), around 50 indoor dining seats and a seminar room for up to 50 people. The hut is a base for the Weichtalklamm via ferrata (difficulty A/B), which starts right next to the house at 547 m and exits at about 1180 m, from where hikers can continue to the Kienthalerhütte (1380 m) and on to the Klosterwappen. Other routes include the Grosses Höllental with several via ferratas, the Wachthüttelkammsteig to the Rax massif and the Otto-Schutzhaus (1642 m), and the Rudolfsteig along the Klobenwand ridge to the Klobentörl. The Weichtalhaus is also an important stop for long-distance hikers on the Nordalpenweg, an Austrian long-distance trail from Vienna to Bregenz. It can be reached by car via the Höllental Strasse, about eight kilometres after Reichenau an der Rax in the direction of Schwarzau im Gebirge, with a large car park immediately in front of the house, and by bus no. 1746 of Retter Linien at the Höllental Weichtalhaus stop.

The first Weichtalhaus was built by Naturfreunde Wien in the early 1920s and opened in 1922. It stood at 547 metres above sea level at the south-western foot of the Schneeberg in Lower Austria, near the left bank of the Schwarza in the Höllental and at the entrance to the Weichtalklamm. For decades it served as a base for hikers, climbers and mountaineers, and before its closure it offered around 70 sleeping places, comprising 11 beds and 60 mattress places. At the end of October 2013 the hut had to be closed because the building stock was in a technically and economically no longer repairable condition. It was demolished in autumn 2014. In 2014 and 2015 the Weichtalhaus was rebuilt at a cost of around one million euros. The new three-storey building has 580 m² of usable floor area and was conceived among other things as a training and climbing centre. It includes 70 sleeping places (beds and mattress places), around 50 seats in the indoor dining area and a seminar room for up to 50 people. The rebuilt hut continues to serve as an alpine base and training facility for Naturfreunde Wien.

• 2015

  New three-storey Weichtalhaus completed at a cost of around one million euros.

• 2014

  Old hut demolished in autumn; reconstruction begins.

• 2013

  Hut closed at the end of October because the building was no longer repairable.

• 1922

  First Weichtalhaus opened by Naturfreunde Wien.

Alpine hut and training/climbing centre for hikers, climbers and mountaineers in the Höllental near the Schneeberg.

• Alpine hut accommodation (70 sleeping places)

• Training and climbing centre

• Seminar room for up to 50 people

• Indoor dining area with around 50 seats

• Weichtalklamm via ferrata (A/B)

1. 1Weichtalhaus official websiteweichtalhaus.com
2. 2Weichtalhaus on Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Weichtalhaus on German Wikipediade.wikipedia.org