Discovering mountain hut culture in Innsbruck, Austria

It all starts with the Alpine Clubs

Words and photos: Jaakko Järvensivu

For years I had been a member of the Austrian Alpine Club, or Österreichische Alpenverein, paying the annual fee of 69 euros, mostly due to the extensive (up to 25 000 euros) global rescue fee coverage, included in the adjoined membership insurance.

While the insurance might have been the main reason for joining the ÖAV a decade or so ago, I had also grown accustomed to the Innsbruck Alpin Magazin, a quarter-annual publication by Sektion Innsbruck, the local club I had chosen as my own, when pressed to choose one upon joining ÖAV.

Showcasing mostly climbing, hiking and ski touring routes around Innsbruck, I saw the magazine as a good tool for keeping up my German skills, while also providing me a window for local mountain culture.

The membership magazines showcase local mountain culture. Location: Innsbruck, Austria.

ÖAV, or the Austrian Alpine Club was in fact founded in Vienna in 1862 to do just that: promote the mountain culture throughout Austria by opening up climbing routes, building hiking paths and mountain huts, and sharing knowledge about the mountains.

In the beginning, it operated together with the independent Deutscher Alpenverein, DAV, or German Alpine Club. Today, there are 194 local clubs with altogether 725 000 members, with around 40 000 km´s of hiking trails and some 400 mountain huts.

The mountain huts or Hüttes are quintessential part of the national alpine clubs and mountain culture, as wild camping and sleeping in your own tent is not customary, and in many parts of the Alps, also forbidden. ÖAV members get around 12 euros reduction of an overnight stay in all the members of the mountain hut system, and this even applies to German and South Tirol Alpine Clubs.

Being a member of the alpine club for a decade and yet having never experienced a true hiking holiday in a cozy mountain hut in the Austrian Alps, I began to think that I was missing out something.

Planning is half the trip

What better way to experience this than a family trip to Austria in the summer, aiming to combine city culture, together with a hiking holiday in the mountains. We chose Innsbruck, the capital of Tyrol as our main destination. Besides being a member of the local ÖAV club or Sektion, it was also a vibrant city with a rich history and culture, with an easy access to the surrounding mountains, including the Karwendel to the north of the city.

Vibrant city with rich history and easy access to the surrounding mountains. Location: Old town in Innsbruck, Austria.

As I began searching for suitable mountain huts in the nearby area, which would be accessible also for families arriving by public transport from Innsbruck, I came across the Potsdamerhütte, which located on a mountain off of the Sellrain Valley, some 14 km´s southeast of Innsbruck.

After a few emails with the hut manager Sven Bissert, I had secured my family and I a 4-person room with Halbpension, which includes breakfast, a three-course meal in the evening, and so-called Marschbrot, basically a packed lunch for our hikes.

Getting on the recommended bus line 4166 with Kühtai as the designated end destination was no problem, but ascending the 1000 vertical meters required to reach the Potsdamerhütte from the valley floor at 909 meters proved slightly challenging.

Despite being advised to rely on a local taxi service to cover the first 500 vertical meters or so, when we arrived in the village we were told by a local guest house owner that there was no taxi in the village after all. After some further phone calls and discussions, the owner offered us a lift using his own car for a nominal fee, which we gladly accepted. A few minutes later, we waived, as he distanced himself from us at the parking lot of Guesthouse Bergheim Fotsch on 1500 meters, where the public road ends.

The remaining 500 vertical meter walk to the Potsdamerhütte would have been, if not a walk in the park, but at least an easy hike to anyone with a good fitness level. However, besides my wife Laura, there was also our five-year old daughter Iida carrying her own small backpack, and our 2 and a half-year-old son Aarne, whom I was carrying in a child carrier bag, along with a large backpack on my chest.

It´s not about the destination, but the journey itself

It was already afternoon when we started following the gravel road surrounded by tall alpine spruce trees, parting ways momentarily with the refreshing stream of Fotscher Bach. At this point, we were all high-spirited, despite the previous day´s travel from Munich and today´s problems with the no-show taxi.

The scenery over the river valley and the mountain side looming over it was beautiful and all those days spent in the outdoor-specific kindergarten seemed to have built Iida´s legs strong. I could feel the weight of carrying what was basically two backpacks but could handle it as well.

On the same trail later without the backpacks, thunder storm or fatigue.

As time went on, we started seeing people descending back to the valley from their day hikes. Aarne proved to be a quick leaner and soon I could hear Aarne shouting Servus! from behind me, every time we passed someone.

We also noticed clouds gathering on the sky, and sure enough, it started to rain – heavily. Soon we could hear the roaring thunder echoing in the mountains and, to top it all, dusk was nearing.

An older gentleman descending from the hill said to me in German that we should not proceed in this weather, as it could be very dangerous. I thanked him, and we carried on. Needles to say that everyone´s spirits saw a steep decline in the prevailing conditions.

To strengthen the kids´ morales, I declared that I would give them a piece of chocolate every time we would climb another 100 vertical meters as determined by the altimer in my watch. This worked for a while, but at some point everyone was drenched, and it was also getting darker.

When Iida started crying saying she was cold, we had a break and we changed some dry clothes on her. My wife Laura was not too happy either, hinting that I could have planned our outing slightly better. I was also starting to feel the effects of carrying two backpacks but tried my best not to show that and instead boost everyone´s morales.

We must have looked like a miserable bunch, which is probably the reason why a 4X4 pickup truck with a trailer full of live sheep stopped shortly after having overtaken us. When I reached the open driver´s window, a man with a weathered face and kind eyes asked me in German if we needed a lift.

A couple of minutes later we were sitting inside the truck, and Iida was explaining ecstatically with gleaming eyes what a great wonder we had stumbled upon to, having been offered this ride. The driver explained to us that he lived just next door from the Potsdamerhütte, and that he could drive us all the way to our mountain hut guesthouse.

The Potsdamerhütte

After a very good night´s sleep and breakfast, I sat down with the hut managers of the Potsdamerhütte: Sven Bissert and Ira Kreutzer. A couple hailing from Fürth in Nürnberg, Germany, who were 29 and 26 years old, when they took over the hut in June 2023.

Potsdamerhütte – beer on the terrace comes with an acceptable view.

“I came here, and other colleagues did not adjust so well to living here on the mountain without a tv, away from the civilization, so they left after a couple of weeks – there was a shortage of staff, and then along came Ira”, Sven now recalls. Ira says that she had just finished her studies and decided to come here and work for the winter season of 2021-2022.

Sven and Ira have been running the Potsdamerhütte since the summer of 2023.

Despite the high elevation, the Potsdamerhütte is open also during the winter. According to Sven, people typically come for 2, 3, or 4 nights for ski touring in the surrounding mountains during the winter, but it is not remotely as busy as it is during the main summer season, when the hut makes 50-70% of the annual income.

The hut managers for the Austrian or German Alpine Clubs usually pay rent to the club and receive a fixed sum per each sold bed. The club also receives a fixed percentage from all the food and drinks sold in the hut. When asked about their salaries, Sven says that the couple gets by but won´t be getting rich – it´s a lifestyle, more than a career. For Sven, the advantages of that lifestyle are also clear: “Here we are away from all the problems of the civilization and relationships with people are much easier.”

No tv, but the lifestyle does have it´s perks though.

The origins of the hut are somewhat peculiar – as the name suggests, it first belonged to the Sektion Potsdam in eastern Germany. “The huts were originally built in the 1920´s and 30´s, when Germany and Austria were much closer”, says Sven. The appeal of the mountains was growing during that era, and every alpine club wanted their own hut.

Then, as Potsdam later became part of the DDR (GDR), the club members could not get out of their country and visit the hut – or the Alps. Long story short, a handful of the members got out, founded a new club in Dinkelsbühl West Germany: “then the club grew and the original members decided to to give the hut to Sektion Dinkelsbühl”, Sven cites.

A couple of years later the wall came down and DDR was no more. At this point Potsdam wanted to have their hut back, but to no avail. Still, it seems that no grudge is being held, as Sektion Potsdam now voluntarily donates their membership fees to the Potsdamerhütte.

When applying for the management of the hut Sven and Ira had a clear view of the direction they would want to go with the hut: “we wanted to be a hut for everyone, offering also vegan and vegetarian food, while keeping meat still on the menu”, Sven says.

Potsdamerhütte also offers tasty vegan and vegetarian dishes.

They also wanted to offer more local ingredients, which included switching Bavarian beer to a local brew: “we know Bavarian beer is good, but when I´m in Austria, I want Austrian beer”, Sven adds. Besides the beer, also the wine, liquor, vegetables and meat are locally produced. The couple also adds that they are now officially a child-friendly hut – they have a certification from the Alpine Club to prove that.

And it doesn´t stop there, next Sven and Ira want to receive the “So schmecken die Berge (This is how the mountains taste) certification for offering a menu full of local ingredients.

Sven using local pine cones (Pinus Cembra) to make Zirben Schapps liquor.

For now Sven and Ira seem contemplated to be where they are though: “We looked for a long time for the right jobs, but could not find something that made us both of us happy – here we can follow our dreams”, Sven ends.

Final Words

We had a great time at the Potsdamerhütte. The hikes just off the guesthouse were well-marked and suited our crews’ abilities. We saw gracing horses and cows, salamanders and one marmot, which the kids loved, of course. The hillside location is very scenic, as it gives you a full vista over the opposing mountains and the valley below with a river running through it.

Potsdamerhütte and the opposing mountain from above.

The food was tasty and varied: some main courses consisted of vegetarian and some of more traditional protein sources. The old dining area has a very nice Stimmung to it with wood-framed pane windows looking over the valley and the mountains behind.

The rustic dining hall has a spectacular mountain vista through the wood-framed panel windows.

The children loved the swings on the backyard with views on the opposing mountains. Trying to pet the sheep gracing on the backyard was also a favourite activity, although the success rate was not too high. For Iida, the highlight of the holiday was definitely making many friends from a class on a field-trip from Innsbruck – no language barrier between kids having fun!

Iida and Aarne trying their best to pet the sheep in the backyard.

Laura and Iida with the Potsdamerhütte on the background.

With a price of around 40 euros you get basic accommodation in a cozy mountain hut, in a scenic location at 2009 meters amidst spectacular mountains, and tasty meals using local ingredients (half-board).

More information here.

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