In bright sunshine, Pastor Stefan Lanz blessed the Liechtenstein Alpine Club’s Gafadura hut above Planken on May 1st, ushering in the new hiking season. Guests and the hut team gathered around the wooden tables on the terrace for the traditional ceremony at 1,428 meters above sea level.
From the hunting lodge to the mountain hut
The history of Gafadura goes back a long way. The name itself reveals its origin: It comes from the Old Rheto-Romance “cavradüra” and simply means clearing. After 1300, Walsers from Triesenberg settled on the alp, which became the property of the Planken community in 1579 and has been managed as a community alp ever since.
The hut building itself was built in 1926 according to plans by the architect Gustav von Neumann – originally as a princely hunting lodge. At the same time the road up to the Alp was built. In 1954, Prince Franz Josef II sold the hunting lodge to the watch manufacturer Erwin Kocher from Grenchen, and in 1968 the Liechtenstein Alpine Club acquired the hut and opened it to mountain tourists. Since then it has been a popular destination for hikers from all over the country and beyond.
