The Solvay Hut or Solvay Bivouac (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

: ''Solvayhütte'') is a

mountain hut A mountain hut is a building located at high elevation, in mountainous terrain, generally accessible only by foot, intended to provide food and shelter to mountaineering, mountaineers, climbing, climbers and Hiking, hikers. Mountain huts are us ...

located on the north-eastern ridge (Hörnli Ridge) of the

Matterhorn The , ; ; ; or ; ; . is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the Main chain of the Alps, main watershed and border between Italy and Switzerland. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the Pennine Alps, ...

, near

Zermatt Zermatt (, ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Visp (district), Visp in the German language, German-speaking section of the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It has a year-round population of about 5,800 and is cl ...

in the canton of

Valais Valais ( , ; ), more formally, the Canton of Valais or Wallis, is one of the cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of thirteen districts and its capital and largest city is Sion, Switzer ...

. At it is the highest mountain hut owned by the

Swiss Alpine Club The Swiss Alpine Club (, , , ) is the largest mountaineering club in Switzerland. It was founded in 1863 in Olten and it is now composed of 110 sections with 174,726 members (2023). These include the Association of British Members of the Swiss ...

, but can be used only in case of emergency. The Hörnli Hut, lying 700 meters below on the same ridge, is the starting point of the normal route to the summit. The Solvay hut was built in 1917, 52 years after the

first ascent of the Matterhorn The first ascent of the Matterhorn was a mountaineering expedition of the Matterhorn made by Edward Whymper, Lord Francis Douglas, Charles Hudson (climber), Charles Hudson, Douglas Robert Hadow, Douglas Hadow, Michel Croz, and two Zermatt guides ...

which took place on the same ridge. It offers 10 beds and is equipped with a

radiotelephone A radiotelephone (or radiophone), abbreviated RT, is a radio communication system for conducting a conversation; radiotelephony means telephony by radio. It is in contrast to ''radiotelegraphy'', which is radio transmission of telegrams (messag ...

. The hut was named after

Ernest Solvay Ernest Gaston Joseph Solvay (; 16 April 1838 – 26 May 1922) was a Belgian chemist, industrialist and philanthropist. Biography Born in Rebecq, he was prevented by his acute pleurisy from going to university. He worked in his uncle's c ...

, a Belgian chemist and industrialist who in 1904 donated 20,000 francs for its construction. The building materials for the hut were brought with a cable rising from the Hörnli Hut. It was rebuilt in 1966 and the emergency telephone was installed in 1976.''Solvey Hut, shelter for mountaineers - 4,003 meters above ground level''
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References

External links

Website (German)
{{coord, 45, 58, 43.5, N, 7, 39, 46.5, E, region:CH-VS_type:landmark, display=title Mountain huts in Switzerland Matterhorn Mountain huts in the Alps

See also

References

External links