Berliner Hütte and Schönbichler Horn

The Berliner Hütte in the Zillertal was built in 1879 as a simple mountain shelter at an altitude of 2,044 metres and was later expanded into a magnificent ensemble that looks more like a manor house. For this reason, the Berliner Hütte was even heritage-listed in 1997. Nestled in a wild mountain landscape with glaciers and steep rocky peaks, appearing defiant and robust from the outside, the contrast with the comfortable, magnificently furnished rooms inside is quite impressive.

Even the arrival leaves an impression of luxury. Through an entrance door that is still comparable to other mountain huts, you enter a large hall that looks more like the reception room of an upscale hotel in Berlin “Unter den Linden”. A wide wooden staircase with a red runner winds up the wood-panelled walls, while a large window brightens the room and offers a view of the glacial world. A large chandelier further emphasises the room, which rises over two floors.

The dining hall welcomes you with similar splendour and a ceiling height of five metres – many an original mountain shelter would fit completely inside here (I’m thinking of the old “Hölle”, the Höllentalangerhütte). Chandeliers, carvings and wood-turned details give the hall an impressive atmosphere. Reserved for gentlemen in earlier times, a separate dining room was built for the ladies. In addition, there was once even a post and telegraph station and a dedicated shoemaker’s workshop.

Even if not all these services from the early 20th century are still offered, the hospitality remains. The team at the Berliner Hütte gives us a warm welcome and is well-organised to cater for up to 180 hungry and thirsty overnight guests. Lights out is at 10 pm, as the first groups set off early for the next stage or one of the many tempting peaks – Turnerkamp (3,418m) and Großer Möseler (3,480m), Zsigmondyspitze (3,089m), the Mörchenspitzen, the Schwarzensteinkees, Berliner Spitzen and many more.

Due to its location on the Berliner Höhenweg, it is a busy but always relaxing resting place before and after the mountain passes, each of which requires a climb of around 1,000 metres in altitude. For our group, the tour followed a section of the Berliner Höhenweg, past the Waxeggkees, up the Schönbichler Horn and back down to the Schlegeis reservoir. In the following year, I was able to get to know the other section, via the Mörchenscharte into the Floitengrund.

Despite all the beauty, I was shocked by the sight of the heavily melted glaciers Waxeggkees, Hornkees and Schwarzensteinkees or Schlegeiskees. The vast ice-free, polished rock surfaces look like scarred wound tissue. Numerous information boards along the path use old photographs to drastically illustrate the glacial retreat.