Universitätszentrum Obergurgl

The Universitätszentrum Obergurgl stands in the Ötztal Alps at 1,930 metres above sea level. Three stone buildings, erected in 1938–39 as customs houses, were converted in 1951 into the Alpine Research Station and a federal sports hostel. The site was chosen to promote mountaineering, alpine skiing and high-mountain science. Research here covers zoology, botany, glaciology and medicine. Long-term records include glacier measurements that began in 1938 and weather data from 1953. In 1957 students found a microfungus whose compound, cyclosporin A, now prevents organ-rejection transplants. The centre also hosts the highest pollen trap in Tirol and belongs to the Austrian Long-Term Ecosystem Research network. Visitors walk past the original customs houses to modern laboratories and a 90-bed conference wing. The Rotmoostal valley behind the buildings holds eleven micro-climate stations and twenty permanent vegetation plots. A congress hall organises international meetings while the dining room serves meals to researchers and course participants.