Hildesheimer Hütte

The Hildesheimer Hütte is a Category I Schutzhütte (mountain hut) owned and operated by the Sektion Hildesheim of the Deutscher Alpenverein (DAV), the German Alpine Club. It stands at 2,899 metres above sea level in the southern Stubai Alps of Austria, near the transition between the Ötztal and Stubaital valleys. The hut was inaugurated on 28 July 1896, making it one of the older alpine shelters in the region, and it has been continuously expanded, renovated and modernised over more than a century of operation. The hut is a hospitality and mountaineering facility rather than a conventional commercial product brand. It provides overnight accommodation and food service to hikers, climbers and ski tourers, with 24 room beds and 46 mattress dormitory places, plus 8 places in a separate winter room. Its location makes it a base for numerous high alpine objectives in the Stubai Alps, including the Zuckerhütl (3,507 m), the Wilder Pfaff (3,456 m), the Schaufelspitze (3,333 m) and the Stubaier Wildspitze (3,341 m). It is also a waypoint on multi-day traverses linking the Dresdner Hütte, Hochstubaihütte, Siegerlandhütte, Müllerhütte and Sulzenauhütte. The hut is reached either from Sölden via the Windachtal (about 3½ hours on foot, with luggage transport possible from Gaispillen) or from the Stubaital using the glacier cable car (about 1½ hours). A material cable car built by the section after the Second World War supplies the hut, which is otherwise served by photovoltaic power, a renewed water supply, wastewater treatment and a telephone system. The building has been under heritage protection since 2019, and a two-storey new structure was added above the guest room in the same year. As a DAV section facility, the Hildesheimer Hütte is not a listed company and does not trade on a stock exchange. It is financed and maintained by the Hildesheim Section and its members, and it operates seasonally, closing for a winter pause. The official section website, dav-hildesheim.de, publishes hut opening information, section news and reports from hiking, canoeing and climbing groups. The hut also maintains a webcam, donated by the city of Hildesheim for its 115th anniversary in August 2011.

The Hildesheimer Hütte was inaugurated on 28 July 1896. The motivation for its construction was to create a shelter at the transition from the Ötztal to the Stubaital, giving mountaineers coming from the Ötztal a base from which to reach numerous peaks of the Stubai Alps. The original hut offered 14 sleeping places. From 1904 the hut, and in particular its number of sleeping places, was enlarged, and the expanded building was inaugurated on 11 July 1906. In 1914 the hut received a gas system for lighting the guest room and a stove for cooking. During and after the First World War, visitor numbers fell sharply because of the political situation. In 1925 the hut was extended again, and overnight stays subsequently rose to 3,500 per year. With the beginning of the Second World War the hut could no longer be run as a business; the innkeeper, Paul Grüner, was called up for military service. When he returned in 1945, the hut had been plundered by soldiers. The hut had been confiscated by the Allies, and Paul Grüner restored it over the following years. In 1958, like most German mountain huts, it was officially returned to the Sektion Hildesheim of the DAV under the state treaty concluded between Germany and Austria. The section then built a material cable car at considerable financial burden to its members. Since that time the hut has been continuously renovated and modernised, gaining a photovoltaic electricity supply, a renewed water supply, wastewater treatment and a telephone system. Before the material cable car was built, the hut was supplied by horses and porters. For its 115th anniversary celebration in August 2011, the city of Hildesheim presented the hut with a webcam. The building consists of the single-storey core structure completed in 1896 with a knee wall and gable roof, a two-storey addition with cellar on the west side from 1924, and a single-storey annex on the north side from the early 1930s. On the valley side the hut's appearance is characterised by masonry buttresses. The northern annex with a shallow gable roof contains the large guest room. The fittings and panelling (pilaster panelling with flat carving) as well as the beamed ceiling on a central support and a beam date from the construction period. The hut has been under heritage protection since 2019. A two-storey new building was erected above the guest room in 2019. A few metres from the hut is the winter room. The ascent from Sölden (Fiegl's Gasthaus) runs via the Windachtal on the flank of the Schussgrubenkogel, with a walking time of 3½ hours and luggage transport possible from Gaispillen. Alternatively, the hut can be reached via the Stubaital with the glacier cable car, with a walking time of 1½ hours. Transitions connect to the Dresdner Hütte (2,308 m) over the Bildstöckljoch in 2½ hours, to the Hochstubaihütte (3,174 m) over the Warenkarscharte in 3½ hours, to the Siegerlandhütte (2,710 m) over the Gamsplatzl in 3½ hours, to the Müllerhütte (3,148 m) over the Wilder Pfaff in 3½ hours, and to the Sulzenauhütte (2,191 m) over the Pfaffenjoch in 4 hours. Tour destinations include the Zuckerhütl (3,507 m, a high tour of 3 hours), the Schußgrubenkogel (3,211 m, 1½ hours), the Schaufelspitze (3,333 m, a high tour of 1½ hours), the Wilder Pfaff (3,456 m, 3 hours), the Stubaier Wildspitze (3,341 m, 3 hours) and the Gaiskogel (3,129 m, 2½ hours). A climbing garden with the Falkengrat via ferrata lies nearby.

• 2019

  Hut placed under heritage protection; two-storey new building erected above the guest room.

• 2011

  City of Hildesheim presents a webcam for the hut's 115th anniversary in August.

• 1958

  Hut officially returned to the Sektion Hildesheim of the DAV under the German-Austrian state treaty.

• 1945

  Paul Grüner returns to find the hut plundered by soldiers.

• 1939

  With the start of the Second World War the hut can no longer be run; innkeeper Paul Grüner is called up.

• 1925

  Hut extended; overnight stays later rise to 3,500 per year.

• 1914

  Gas lighting for the guest room and a cooking stove installed.

• 1906

  Expanded hut inaugurated on 11 July.

• 1904

  Enlargement of the hut and its sleeping places begins.

• 1896

  Hut inaugurated on 28 July with 14 sleeping places.

A heritage-protected, member-maintained alpine shelter of the German Alpine Club, positioned as a base for high alpine tours and multi-day hut traverses in the Stubai Alps.

• Overnight accommodation (24 room beds, 46 mattress dormitory places)

• Winter room (8 places)

• Food and beverage service in the guest room

• Webcam of the Hildesheimer Hütte

1. 1Sektion Hildesheimdav-hildesheim.de
2. 2Hildesheimer Hütte – Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Hildesheimer Hütte – Wikipedia (German)de.wikipedia.org