Featured hut by Allan Hartley

Landshuter-Europa Hut 2693m, Zillertal Alp

Owner: DAV Sektion Landshut and CAI Sektion Sterzing.

Location: Located on a prominent part of the Tuxer Kamm ridge that marks the Austrian-Italian bordr with extensive views in all directions.

Open: Early July to the end of September.

Facilities: 28 beds, 60 Matratzenlager , 10 Notlager. Good restaurant and toilet facilities.

Valley and Hut Connections: From Brenner on the Brenner Pass 4h or Mayrhofen via Schlegeis 5h. Pfitscherjochhaus 4h, Geraerhütte 6h, Olpererhütte 6h.

Address: Herr Helmut Holzer, Landshuter-Europa-Hütte St Jakob-Pfitsch über Sterzing 78, I-39040 Italy.

Email: info@europahuette.it

Bookings per Florian Holzer onf.holzer@rolmail.net

Web Site: www.europahuette.it

Tel: Hut (0039) 0472 646076; valley (0039) 0472 630156

The first hut was established in 1889 with limited success due to money problems. Ten years later, between 1899, 1902 and 1903, greatly aided by the opening of the railway over the Brenner Pass, the solid, three storey, buttressed stone building was built with quarters for personnel, a guest room, veranda and beds for 42 people.

The hut actually straddles the border with Italy. Some years ago you knew that you were on the border because the window shutters on the Austrian side were painted red and white whilst on the Italian South Tyrol side the shutters were painted green and white. Sadly the colour has now gone; today the border demarcation is noted in the entrance hallway by a large red sign that has a scary looking eagle on it with the word Oesterreich boldly printed on it. Outside on the Italian side you will find a simple white border post mark that you could easily trip over.

After the annexation of the South Tyrol in 1919 at the end of the First World War, the hut was occupied by the Italian military, evidence of which can be seen on the route to the Pfitscherjochhaus with wide paved paths and buttressed walls that the military engineers built for ease of transporting men and materials from the garrison at Pfitscherjoch to aid and secure the Italian side of the border. At the end of the Second World War the hut was abandoned and by the early nineteen fifties was in a very bad condition and semi-derelict. Some effort was put into cleaning the hut up with modest renovation around 1953 but the difficult political situation of the era and questions over South Tyrol with insurgency and smuggling made the situation almost impossible and the hut was closed in 1966.

Many more years would again pass with political wrangling over ownership and responsibility between Italy and Austria going on and on until a resolution of sorts was agreed, and the hut finally re-opened in 1972. Being on the border and with the history of two wars, ownership was always going to be contentious. A mountaineers' compromise solution came about in 1989: the hut should be jointly owned by the Club Alpino Italiano, Sektion Sterzing (Vipitino), and the Deutscher Alpenverein, Sektion Landshut, and the hut should be known as the Landshuter-Europa Hut. A plaque in the hallway commemorates the event.

Presently the hut is beginning to enjoy a bit of a revival due to the establishment of the Tiroler Höhenweg, the long distance hike from Meran to Mayrhofen, and the more recently established Peter Habeler Runde being an extended version of the Olperer Runde. Because of this, and the general ease of access from Brenner or Schlegeis, it means the hut can be quite busy particularly at weekends when it may be full.

The hut, as expected is very well run with a lot of effort being put into maintaining its Gemütlichkeittradition.

A fine hut and one of the highest in the region at 2693m. Standing at the hut's front door, visitors are quickly reminded how high this hut is with splendid views in all directions. To the north is North Tyrol and the peaks of the Inn valley, to the west are Stubai and Ötztal, to the east is Zillertal whilst to the south lie all the lands of the South Tyrol.

Source: Trekking in the Zillertal Alps by Allan Hartley; published by Cicerone Press.

Return to the top of this page, or to the complete Index, or to this section's Index.