Essener-Rostocker Hütte

The Essener-Rostocker Hütte stands in the Maurertal valley within the Venedigergruppe of East Tirol. It is an Alpine club hut run by the Essen section of the German Alpine Association. The building sits at the heart of a high mountain landscape below peaks reaching over 3 400 m. The hut began in 1901 when villagers from Prägraten sought to build a private refuge but lacked funds. They offered land and materials to the German and Austrian Alpine Club. The Rostock section took up the project with help from Johann Stüdl, and construction started in spring 1911. By September that year the shell was winter-proof, and after fitting the interior the hut opened on 8 August 1912. Earlier Essener huts in South Tirol and the Virgental were lost to war and avalanches, so the Essen section rebuilt here beside the abandoned Rostocker Hütte. Visitors reach the hut after a two-hour climb from the valley floor. Inside they find simple dormitories and a dining room with views across the Maurertal. Outside, the Simonyspitze and Großer Geiger towers above, each a four-hour scramble away. The nearby Simonysee lies half an hour’s walk above the hut, reflecting the peaks in its dark water.