A ''Matratzenlager'' ("mattress room"), sometimes called ''Massenlager'' or ''Touristenlager'', is the simplest and cheapest type of sleeping accommodation offered in

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 ...

s. It generally consists of a large room with mattresses usually placed very close together.Bourne, Grant and Körner-Bourne, Sabine (2007). ''Walking in the Bavarian Alps'', 2nd ed., Cicerone, Milnthorpe, p. 20. . The ''Matratzenlager'' is usually found in the

attic An attic (sometimes referred to as a '' loft'') is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building. It is also known as a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because they fill the space between the ceiling of a building's t ...

of the hut and can consist of about 10 to 100 bedspaces. Large ''Matratzenlagers'' are divided into rooms with a maximum of 20-30 bedspaces in order to ensure a reasonable night's sleep. Often there are also smaller rooms for

families Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as ...

. The

mattresses A mattress is a large, usually rectangular pad for supporting a person Lying (position), lying down, especially for sleeping. It is designed to be used as a bed, or on a bed frame as part of a bed. Mattresses may consist of a Quilting, quilted o ...

usually do not lie on the floor, but on a large wooden frame and each bedspace is given its own pillow and up to two woollen blankets (''Alpenvereinsdecken'' or "Alpine club blankets"). At the head or the foot are small storage areas. At

Alpine club hut Alpine club huts () or simply club huts (''Clubhütten'') form the majority of the over 1,300 mountain huts in the Alps and are maintained by branches, or sections, of the various Alpine clubs. Although the usual English translation of ''Hütte'' i ...

s the use of hut sleeping bags is mandatory.

References

{{Climbing-stub Mountain huts