Association for mountain sports enthusiasts

The Österreichischer Alpenverein - OeAV, founded in 1862, is today the largest mountaineering association in Austria with 450,000 members. The Alpenverein is a public benefit non-partisan association focused on hiking, mountaineering, mountain climbing, travel, skiing, ski mountaineering, cross-country skiing, nature and environmental protection, youth work, care for the elderly, publishing, scientific activities and much more. An important area of the OeAV's work is the maintenance of its more than 500 mountain huts and the care of its network of alpine trails.

With our huts, trails and climbing facilities, we provide the necessary infrastructure. In addition to personal advice, mountain sports enthusiasts can use a wealth of publications and online services as information channels.

The EDELWEISS section was founded in 1946 and is the largest section within the Alpenverein. It has its headquarters in Vienna at A-1010 Wien, Walfischgasse 12. Its task, which is defined in the statutes, is to bring the members of this section closer to mountaineering in the broadest sense of the word, with all its activities, its beauty and the personal importance of man. In short, it wants to create a space for human experience in nature and the world of mountains, and it is the maintenance of this that has become increasingly important in recent years.