History
The history of the Fanes Hut is exemplary for the development of tourism in this area.
Even before World War I, S. Vigilio di Marebbe had guesthouses and people visited the village. One could however not speak of tourism at the time. Due to the construction of roads during the First World War, the first cars could access the area and the flow of foreigners visiting our region increased rapidly.

During the 20ies, the village became more and more of a place to visit and the number of accommodations grew simultaneously. One of the biggest and most renowned hotels was, and still is, the Hotel Posta from the Mutschlechner family. During the same period skiing became more and more popular, and since there was a lack of ascent trajectories, skiers had to walk up the mountains in order to enjoy a great downhill run. The equipment of the time, which consisted of heavy hickory or ash wood, and the unsuitable boots and clothes made it very difficult to reach the point of departure. It became more and more evident, that appropriate break bases in the mountains would be greatly appreciated by skiers. With the construction of the Fanes Hut in 1928, the brothers Fritz, Rudi and Alfred Mutschlechner were pioneers, who managed to close this gap in the market.

From the very beginning the hut served as a branch of the Hotel Posta. Soon, however, it became popular amongst mountaineers and alpine skiers.
Alfred Mutschlechner ran the hut on his own until 1978, when he handed it over to his son Max - today's owner.

During his 50 years at the hut, Alfred gave the hut its very own stamp. In 1938 the building became too small and a spacious dining room with two upper floors, as well as the large sun terrace, were added. At the time, in summer the hut was supplied by "La Mora", a horse and its sleigh.

After World War II, Alfred, who was a passionate driver (he received his driving licence in 1929 during his military service in the Italian army), purchased a jeep from the American troops. This of course made it much easier to fill the hut's supply base.
As Alfred was always open to innovations, he was one of the first to equip the hut with an electric power supply driven by water. In order to be able to open the hut also in winter time, he purchased a combined wheel-chain vehicle from the German army, which was replaced by a snow cat at the beginning of the 60ies.
Alfred Mutschlechner was also a pioneer with regard to looking after his guests. Not only did he provide cosiness in the hut, he was also concerned about the safety of alpinists. Together with others he transformed a small hut from World War I into the "Capanna Monte Castello", which was destroyed by arson in 1962 and was replaced by the "Bivacco della Pace" (Bivouac of Freedom) in 1974.
A real curiosity was the bathing hut at 2.153 metres above sea level, a small hut at the shores of Limo Lake, where people were able to enjoy themselves with small boats.

The realization of the Fanes - Senes - Braies Natural Park finally brought many innovations, which did not facilitate the operation of the hut. The young owner of the hut however, accepted the signs of innovation and adapted every solution possible with respect to the protection of nature.

He was the very first to use a vehicle with a catalytic converter for supplying his hut. Today, the motorized sleigh, the snowcat and the jeep are Euro class 4.
Wherever possible, necessary modifications to the hut are implemented with biological materials. A low-emission system is used for the heating and since 1996 - the year of the renovation, the hut meets the current safety requirements, it is equipped with a solar system and with all modern comforts.
Currently the Fanes Hut can be considered as one of the best equipped and most efficient huts in the entire alpine chain.