The Mountaineering Villages initiative originally came from the Alpine clubs and goes back to a project started by the Austrian Alpine Association. With the help of the Ministry for an Austria Worth Living In (BMLFUW) and grants from the European Fund for Rural Development (2007-2013 and 2014-2020), the Mountaineering Villages have been able to establish themselves locally and in the public’s mind as a visible, implementation project as defined by the Alpine Convention.

Thanks to a European and Alpine-wide collaboration, involving neighbouring Alpine Associations in Germany, South Tyrol, Slovenia, Italy and Swizzerland, Mountaineering Villages outside of Austria have been established.
As a platform for the special and natural sports and recreation offers in the individual mountaineering villages – from neighbourhoods to communities to entire valley communities – the target group of mountaineers and nature lovers should be addressed and the local added value supported, but not at the expense of nature and the environment.

Information about the initiative and the individual villages can be found here on our website as well as in our high-quality publications.

Read more: the philosophy …