In the future, the Pürschling is to be connected to the water and sewer network of the Unterammergau community. Cost: 1.8 million euros.
The operation of many mountain huts in the region is currently restricted and clearly regulated. The coronavirus is also omnipresent in the mountains. The Pürschling at 1566 meters, Unterammergau's local mountain, is no exception. The August-Schuster-Haus has been run by tenants Hubert Spindler and Christine Claussen for eleven years and is currently running as a "kiosk" (sale through a window): the restaurant is closed. And the possibility of staying overnight has not been available for a long time. “We'll make the best of the situation,” says the hut keeper, who is always optimistic, and spreads a good mood. Although for him the situation is anything but satisfactory.
The fact that the Pürschling has not been able to accommodate overnight guests for a long time is due to an official fire protection requirement. At first there was no second escape route. It has now been created by building an outside staircase on the west side. This in turn prompted the Bergland Section of the DAV Munich, as the owner, to start renovating the sanitary facilities with the escape stairs. Stefan Kehl, chairman of the section for a year: “At some point the toilets would have come along anyway, so we have now connected it to the outside staircase”. The work is already in full swing and, Kehl hopes, should be completed by the beginning of October. The cost estimate is around 350,000 euros. In detail, the following improvements are pending: Extension and renovation of the toilet / sanitary facilities, installation of showers and new washrooms on the upper floor, creation of a group room. A new, larger shoe and backpack room is also being built on the ground floor. The section head said: “There will also be a microwave there, which will heat hut sleeping bags to the point where bed bugs are killed.” As a reminder: In autumn 2016, a massive infestation of these bugs was found in the Pürschlinghaus. According to Stefan Kehl, the plague is currently no longer a problem or an issue.
When the new showers in the property are ready, they cannot be used until further notice. The chairman: “We have to put the supply and disposal of the hut, i.e. fresh water and waste water, on a completely new footing and find a permanent solution. Mainly for ecological reasons and because the existing springs are drying up more and more. ”In plain language this means: The Pürschling must be connected to the water and sewer network of the municipality of Unterammergau. Intensive discussions have been ongoing with the community and the property owners (Heimweide, private forest community) for a long time.
The approximately five-kilometer route costs 1.8 million euros
Stefan Kehl speaks of a "huge project": The cost of overcoming the approximately five-kilometer stretch of water and sewage pipe from the village to the mountain is estimated at 1.8 million euros. The Alpine Association is hoping for a subsidy of 75 percent from the Free State of Bavaria, a quarter is borne by the Bergland section itself, which currently has almost 800 members. According to von Kehl, the community is not involved financially. The chairman wishes that the excavation work can start next year. The construction time is estimated at a whole year.
With the completion of the supply lines, overnight guests (59 beds are available) could be accepted again. This would also have a positive effect on the finances of the Alpine Club section, because the Alpine Club has already lost a lot of income due to the closure of the bedrooms because of the bed bugs and the ongoing renovation work. Money that the relatively small section of the mountainous region urgently needs. In contrast to other "departments", the mountainous countries only have two huts, the Pürschling and the Brunnenkopf. The board of directors around Stefan Kehl will therefore insist that the work be implemented as quickly as possible. However, the decisive factor will be how the corona pandemic develops nationally and internationally.
