Neue Traunsteiner Hütte

Surrounded by the wild beauty of the Reiter Alm plateau, Neue Traunsteiner Hütte sits at the heart of an extensive network of hiking trails and alpine routes throughout the Reiter Alm massif. Continually renovated and upgraded, the hut is considered a showcase mountain hut of the German Alpine Club.

Reiter Alm is a high plateau on the border between Bavaria and the Austrian state of Salzburg. It forms the western edge of the Berchtesgaden valley basin, particularly around the mountaineering village of Ramsau. At an elevation of 1,560 meters, Neue Traunsteiner Hütte sits in the heart of this striking plateau, making it an ideal base for alpine tours in the Reiter Alm massif.

Neue Traunsteiner Hütte of the German Alpine Club

For overnight stays, Neue Traunsteiner Hütte offers twelve double rooms and two four-bed rooms. If you prefer the classic mountain hut experience, you can stay in one of the shared dormitories with six, eight, 13, or 20 beds. In the hut’s cozy dining rooms, you can enjoy a lively mountain hut atmosphere in the evening. For a more romantic experience, reserve the Salettl in advance and enjoy an intimate dinner for two.

Routes up to Reiter Alm and hiking options

There is no road open to vehicles up to Reiter Alm, making it particularly challenging to supply Neue Traunsteiner Hütte. The cable car from Oberjettenberg to Reiter Alm is reserved for the German Armed Forces. Instead, you can reach the high plateau via several challenging routes: From Wachterl hiking parking lot in the mountaineering village of Ramsau, follow the Wachterlsteig trail up to Reiter Alm. From nearby Oberjettenberg, hike up via Schrecksattel. From Hintersee, the route leads via Eisbergscharte to Reiter Alm, while from Unken in Austria, you can climb up via Alpasteig.

From Neue Traunsteiner Hütte, you can set out on a variety of alpine tours and climb several peaks, including Stadelhorn, Wagendrischelhorn, Großes Häuselhorn, Weitschartenkopf, and Edelweißlahnerkopf. If you have good stamina and are sure-footed, you can cross Mayrbergscharte and follow Schaflsteig either down to Hintersee or on to Hirschbichl. If you’re a strong and experienced mountaineer, you can continue via Edelweißlahner and Hintersee all the way to Blaueishütte.

The history of Neue Traunsteiner Hütte

In 1933, the Nazi regime introduced a fee of 1,000 Reichsmarks for crossing the border into Austria in an effort to weaken the Austrian economy, which was already heavily dependent on tourism. This measure threatened the economic survival of Traunsteiner Hütte, built in 1901 by the Traunstein Section of the Alpine Club and located just across the border on Austrian territory.

In response, the Traunstein Section, under its chairman at the time, Karl Merkenschlager, built a much larger hut on the Bavarian side of the border at an elevation of 1,570 meters: Neue Traunsteiner Hütte. Since the mountain hut opened on September 4, 1938, the building, named after Karl Merkenschlager, has been continually modernized and equipped with the latest technology.

Like Alte Traunsteiner Hütte, which is not open to the public, Neue Traunsteiner Hütte lies amid the extensive alpine pastures of Reiter Alm. The border between Bavaria and Austria runs directly across this high plateau. Today, the border has little practical significance and also marks the boundary of Berchtesgaden National Park.