Watzmannhaus

The Watzmannhaus at 1,930 m is one of the best-known mountain huts in the Bavarian Alps and the central base for ascents of the Watzmann. The German Alpine Club hut offers food and overnight stays in dormitories and rooms.

Approach

The normal route leads from the Wimbachbrücke via the Stubenalm and Mitterkaseralm to the hut, around 1,200 vertical metres, in about 3 to 4 hours. A rewarding mountain walk that is a great goal even without summit ambitions.

Overnight stay & reservation

• Reservation via the DAV booking system is strongly recommended, especially at weekends in summer.
• Those who stay overnight here start the summit tour to the Hocheck early in the morning with a head start on the weather.
• A hut sleeping bag, headlamp and enough cash belong in the pack; the packing list for it is in our tour preparations.

Background & History

High above the Berchtesgaden region, on the Falzköpfl at around 1,930 metres, stands the Watzmannhaus, the central base for the ascent of the Watzmann. The hut was built towards the end of the 19th century by the German Alpine Club, in that time when the systematic opening-up of the Eastern Alps spread a dense network of such refuge houses across the high mountains. From here mountaineers set out for the famous traverse, which leads over the Hocheck and the Mittelspitze along the airy ridge.

Refuge huts such as the Watzmannhaus are far more than mere accommodation; they embody the alpine culture of the Alpine Club, which since the 19th century has marked paths, run huts and made mountaineering accessible to many. Set in the midst of the Berchtesgaden National Park, the house offers a wide view over the Watzmann massif and the surrounding limestone mountains. Over the decades the house grew from simple accommodation into a comfortable base, without losing its character as a down-to-earth mountain inn. Whoever stays overnight up here experiences the mountain in its stillest hours: the glow of the walls in the evening light, the clear night over the peaks, and the first light that calls the mountaineers to set off.