Glocknerhaus (Heiligenblut am Großglockner)

Glocknerhaus (Heiligenblut am Großglockner) ÖAV guest house  category  II
Southeast view of the Glocknerhaus; in the background the Grossglockner
location	on the Grossglockner High Alpine Road ; Carinthia , Austria ; Valley location:  Heiligenblut
Mountain range	Glockner group
Geographical location:	47 ° 4 '10.9 "  N , 12 ° 46' 5.8"  E Coordinates: 47 ° 4 '10.9 "  N , 12 ° 46' 5.8"  E
Altitude	2132  m above sea level A.
owner	Alpenverein Klagenfurt of the PES
Construction type	Inn
Usual opening times	Beginning of May to end of October (opening of the High Alpine Road)
accommodation	48 beds, 40  camps , 8 emergency camps
Winter room	8  bearings
Web link	Website of the Glocknerhaus
Hut directory	ÖAV DAV

The Glocknerhaus is a mountain inn of the Klagenfurt Alpine Club , a section of the ÖAV . It is on the Großglockner High Alpine Road , a little below the end of the Pasterze , in the municipality of Heiligenblut am Großglockner in the state of Carinthia .

history

Early plans

Archduke Johann had an accommodation hut built in the Gamsgrube in 1834 , which was replaced by the Hofmannshütte in 1870 , an outstanding achievement for the time due to the inaccessibility of the area. The Klagenfurt Alpine Club section - founded on February 27, 1872 - was primarily active in the Glockner area at the beginning of its existence, after which it was soon considered to build accommodation near the Pasterze. The idea of ​​building a shelter at this point existed much earlier. To commemorate the visit of Emperor Franz Joseph I and Empress Elisabeth on September 7, 1856 , the state of Carinthia wanted to build a house on Bretterboden , which later became Elisabeth's rest , but the project never got beyond the planning phase.

The early years

Construction began on June 16, 1875 and the Section had to contend with great difficulties even before that date: The project was designed very generously for this time and so some investors lacked confidence in the project. In order to raise the necessary funds, money collections had to be initiated, which were then very successful. The postmaster from Winklern in Mölltal, Lorenz Wernisch, took over the construction supervision , the shell construction was completed at the end of August 1875. The money reserves were soon used up, the section decided on the unusual route of a lottery (main prize: a Bösendorfer grand piano ), 50,000 tickets were issued and the building could soon be completed.

Thus Carinthia also had a central access to the Glockner area, in East Tyrol with the Stüdlhütte , in Salzburg with the Rauriser Tauernhaus and the Rudolfshütte the necessary infrastructure was largely given. However, the influx of visitors (1881: 1520 people) was already so great after six years that an expansion had to be urgently discussed. Due to financial problems that could not be managed, this project had to be abandoned for the time being. It was not until 1885 that the planned expansion could be carried out under the direction of Ing. Perl. In that year, a new road over the Iselsberg was completed, now it was also possible for double-spouses to travel to Heiligenblut, the influx to the Glocknerhaus grew to 2001 people per year and in 1886 the Glocknerhaus received another extension.

The Glocknerstrasse

In 1893, the growing desire was finally given in to route a driveway to the hut for "people who are not able to use mule paths to reach the Glocknerhaus." This decision , which is difficult from today's perspective, led this road in 13 years Construction time under the direction of Ing.Teischinger 1908 up to the hut. The road was 11.2 km in length, 2.5 m wide apart from a few passing points and had an average gradient of 10%. However, the line was by no means expanded, retaining walls and other safety measures still had to be improved. In addition, natural events made the completion more difficult, in 1917 the road above Heiligenblut was almost completely destroyed for 2 km, only in 1922 it could be opened again for ordinary vehicles. Well-known donors such as the Austrian Automobile Club and the Kärntner Sparkasse , which constantly acts as a savior, helped the builders to such an extent that the project could be handed over after more than two decades. The road soon developed into the biggest tourist attraction in Upper Carinthia . The maintenance of the access, which was not yet developed at that time, proved to be very difficult even before the First World War , especially since the income from the shelter itself had to be used for this purpose. The condition of the Glocknerhaus itself naturally suffered under this circumstance, expansion and renovation plans were repeatedly postponed.

The economic independence of the Glocknerstrasse was thus the primary goal of the Klagenfurt section, and the Carinthian state government then approved a toll for the general maintenance of the route. These toll revenues were then taken as an opportunity to submit complaints to the Klagenfurt Section from various institutions. This protracted dispute finally ended on May 15, 1931 with the sale of the uppermost part of the street ( Gletscherstraße to Franz-Josefs-Höhe ) to the newly founded Großglockner-Hochalpenstraßen AG (GROHAG). The remainder of the road was offered to GROHAG as an option after the completion of the Grossglockner High Alpine Road.

New beginning at the Glocknerhaus

The Glocknerhaus remained closed after the First World War until 1929, the forces of nature, burglaries and vandalism did not give the house an inviting appearance. Increasing visitor numbers and the already mentioned completion of the street justified a renovation or an increase in the house, which took place in the years 1926/27. The popularity of the Glocknerhaus increased from year to year, naturally the Second World War represented a turning point. The British occupying forces in Carinthia and Styria confiscated the refuge in 1945 and made it the location of the British high mountain school for officers until 1948. After the property had been returned, it really had to be said of a new beginning, the building fabric was in a terrible condition, the inventory stolen or completely unusable. The management was resumed in 1948, necessary repairs were converted into a major renovation and expansion in 1955. The previous, multiple conversions and extensions formed a functionally unsatisfactory floor plan, after which the house was fundamentally rebuilt. After an intensive construction phase, the efforts were ended in 1964 and the Glocknerhaus was restored as an attractive base at the head of the Möll valley .

The house today

View from the Glocknerhaus to the Großglockner.

On the structural side, the last few decades were no longer characterized by massive measures, but by raising the general standard. The partial switch to renewable energy through the installation of a photovoltaic system naturally also shows the understandable expression of the careful treatment of nature. This thought shows - in the awareness of the interventions at the 300 m higher Franz-Josefs-Höhe, the tourist center of the Glockner area with its extensive traffic and structural, not harmless infrastructure - the more sensitive handling of the edge zones of the Hohe Tauern National Park (" gentle tourism ").

Due to its location, the Glocknerhaus is poorly integrated into the mountain path network and therefore focuses on travelers today.

In the 2000s, the Glocknerhaus was revitalized with a construction cost of over € 1.2 million. The street was moved to the back of the house, as it was originally, and a wooden and glass veranda was built on the forecourt that had become free.

Tours

Accesses

Because of its location, the Glocknerhaus can easily be reached by car or bus via the Grossglockner High Alpine Road .

There is also an ascent from Heiligenblut ( 1288  m above sea level ) via the Haritzersteig with a walking time of 3 hours.

Mountaineering

Because of its high alpine location, the hut is the starting point for some demanding high-altitude tours.

• Mittlerer Bärenkopf ( 3357  m ), walking time: 7 hours
• Großer Bärenkopf ( 3406  m ), walking time: 8 hours
• Johannisberg ( 3453  m ), walking time: 9 hours
• Grossglockner ascent via Salmhütte - Adlersruhe ( 3798  m ), walking time: 1 day
• Racherin ( 3093  m ) and Wasserradkopf ( 3032  m ), walking time: 3 hours
• Spielmann ( 3027  m ), walking time: 3 hours
• Sonnenwelleck ( 3266  m ), walking time: 3½ hours
• Ladder heads (front ( 2483  m ), middle ( 2602  m ), rear ( 2891  m )), walking time: 1½ - 3 hours

Crossings

• Salmhütte via Stockerscharte, walking time: 3 to 4 hours
• Oberwalder Hütte , walking time: 4 hours
• Franz-Josefs-Höhe, walking time: 1¼ hours
• Trauneralm, walking time: 3¼ hours
• Glorerhütte , walking time: 4 hours
• Hochtor-Schareck (mountain station), walking time: 5 hours
• Klagenfurt Jubiläumsweg - Pfandlscharte-Hochtor - Krumlkeesscharte (bivouac) - Hocharn (further on Sonnblick or Fleißtal ), walking time: 10 to 12 hours
• Pasterze glacier trail, walking time: 3 hours

Ski touring

In winter the Glocknerhaus is the starting point for some ski tours; for example to Großglockner, Spielmann, Racherin, medium and large bear head, Sonnenwelleck and Johannisberg.

Literature and map

• Willi End: Alpine Club Leader Glockner and Granatspitz Group , ISBN 978-3-7633-1266-5
• Alpine Club Map 1: 25,000, sheet 40; Austrian map 1: 50,000, sheet 153; Freytag & Berndt hiking map 1: 50,000, sheet WK 122

Web links

Commons : Glocknerhaus  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Map section
• Official website of the Glocknerhaus

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Magazine of the Klagenfurt Alpine Club, issue 3/2014, page 50 ( online )
2. ↑ Nextroom : Glocknerhaus, extension + revitalization ; accessed on 25 Sep. 2018