Biberacher Hütte

The place

Biberacher Hütte: A Historic Mountain Refuge in Austria The Biberacher Hütte is a category I mountain hut belonging to the Biberach section of the German Alpine Club (DAV). Located in the Lechquellengebirge range at an altitude of 1846 meters, in the municipality of Sonntag, in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg, this refuge was built in 1911 and offers a total of 110 accommodation places, including a winter room. Location and Surroundings The hut lies southwest of the Schadonapass (1840 m), a historic pass between the Bregenzerwald valley and the Walsertal valley. It is surrounded by peaks such as the Glattjöchlspitze (2106 m) to the northwest and the Rothorn (2239 m) to the southeast, as well as the Gigelturm (2112 m) and the Hochkünzelspitze (2397 m) nearby. The municipalities of Schoppernau and Schröcken are also close to the hut. The valley towns of Schröcken to the east and Buchboden to the west are nearby. History The construction of this alpine refuge was prompted by the following statement published in the bulletin of the German and Austrian Alpine Club No. 17 in September 1909: "There are still regions in our Alps where one can walk for two days without finding an alpine refuge nearby. This is the case in the Bezau-Langen area, which represents a full two-day trek." Following this, section members explored a suitable site on October 31, 1909, and chose the location at the Schadonapass for the construction of the hut. Designed in the style of Bregenzerwald houses, with its shingle cladding largely preserved to this day, the hut offered eleven beds and ten dormitory places when it opened in 1911. It was also the first Alpine Club hut in the Lechquellengebirge. After the Second World War, the refuge was temporarily managed by the Austrian Alpine Club. It was not until June 30, 1956 that the Biberacher Hütte was returned to the section that built it, which received the keys back from the Vorarlberg section on September 2. A first major development of the hut between 1965 and 1968 saw the installation of a water supply system, a treatment plant and a generator room. A general renovation of the refuge took place between July 1978 and July 1980, at a cost of more than 700,000 DM. The addition of accommodation places brought the total to 110 places, spread across eleven beds in four rooms, plus three rooms with 32 beds and two rooms with 47 beds, as well as 20 places in the winter room. The lounge was also enlarged, with an extension housing, among other things, accommodation for the manager. The refuge was also fitted with a large cellar and improved sanitary facilities. After hydro, wind and solar power were abandoned as energy sources, the Biberacher Hütte was connected to the public electricity grid by 2002. In July 2011, the hut's hundredth anniversary was celebrated with a mountain church service and demonstrations by the mountain rescue team. After the sudden death of the longtime leaseholder from Schröcken in 2015, his widow gave up the lease. Since 2016, a leaseholder couple from St. Leonhard (Pitztal) has run the refuge. Access and Routes Several routes lead to the Biberacher Hütte, from the Bregenzerwald and Walsertal regions. The shortest access is from Landsteg (bus stop on the Dornbirn / Bregenz - Warth - Lech line) on the Bregenzerwaldstraße between Schoppernau and Schröcken, via a stony, shaded service track in about two hours. Other trails from the Bregenzerwald reach the hut from Schröcken via the Braunarlfürggele (2145 m) in four to five hours, from Schoppernau via the Schalzbachvorsäß and the Glattjöchl in 4.5 hours, or from Au via the Bodenvorsäß and the Töbelejoch (2101 m) in about six hours. Access from the Faschinajoch is also possible via the Hochschere (2013 m) and the Ischkarneifürggele, taking six to seven hours. Routes from the Walsertal start at Buchboden (910 m) and pass through meadows, forests and alpine pastures to reach the hut in about four hours. Mountaineering The Biberacher Hütte is a starting point for several alpine hiking circuits and lies on two long-distance trails: the European long-distance trail E4 and the Via Alpina. It also marks the start of the "Lechquellenrunde", which passes by the Göppinger, Freiburger, Ravensburger and Stuttgarter refuges. The nearby peak of the hut is the Hochkünzelspitze, which can be reached via a marked, partially secured trail in about two hours. Hikes to other peaks such as the Braunarlspitze and the Zitterklapfen offer climbing and hiking challenges. Biberach Section The Biberach section of the German Alpine Club was founded in 1895 and has 5,465 members as of December 31, 2023.