Berghut
Halverwege
Berghut Halverwege is a characterful place where research, the everyday life of its inhabitants and the rhythm of a mountain hut come together. It is a warm refuge halfway up the Vaalserberg, where mapmakers, explorers and passers-by meet.
It may not always be harsh, cold or snow-covered at 246 metres above sea level, but still: however you pass by, and whatever your goal or destination may be, at Berghut Halverwege there is always a warm welcome and a refreshing perspective on our surroundings. And that welcome does not come from the hut alone: you are a guest of Marlies, Remy, Peer and Bruno — the residents who live there, cook, clean, work — who care for the place, open it up and simply are there.
Berghut Halverwege is a living, unconventional home. A kind of Gesamtkunstwerk in which hospitality, research, everyday life and mountain air blend seamlessly. It is a place where we treat one another and our environment with respect. A refuge in the true sense of the word.
Halverwege, between art and science
Berghut Halverwege is not only a meeting place, but also houses a knowledge centre for maps. This may seem like an unusual combination: a mountain hut and a place where research is conducted. But in fact, it is not so strange at all. Take the Capanna Margherita, for example: a mountain hut in the Italian Alps at 4,554 metres above sea level. It provides shelter for mountaineers and serves as a research site, among other things for studies on altitude sickness.
Halfway up the Vaalserberg, mapmakers, researchers, mountaineers and tourists likewise cross paths. Berghut Halverwege hosts artistic and educational research and functions as a meeting place and visitor centre for the most mountainous landscape in the European part of the Netherlands, with its residents as the heartbeat of the whole.
Maps and mountains
At altitude — and therefore also halfway up the Vaalserberg — everything becomes more intense. The weather, the views, the friendships and the risks. You do not enter the mountains without consulting a map. And the more challenging the landscape, the more maps you bring along: topographic maps, weather maps, village plans, geological maps, perhaps even a tourist map.
At Berghut Halverwege, we believe that every mountain, every landscape, deserves to be studied from as many perspectives as possible. And so does the Vaalserberg. Do yourself a favour: look around as if this were a high mountain. Does it not suddenly reveal much more?
Visit and take part
So come by sometime, halfway up the Vaalserberg. Berghut Halverwege offers shelter and a simple meal for the explorers among us. Workshops and expeditions take place regularly. You are welcome to drop in for a cup of coffee, to load a new route onto your GPS, to share your maps, or — through maps — to broaden your perspective on the living environment.
Like other mountain huts, our opening hours are irregular. But when we are not out exploring ourselves, we are happy to open our doors to everyone halfway up the mountain. Get in touch, check Google Maps or follow us on social media if you want to be sure of your well-earned break and a particularly warm welcome: with barking dogs, pans on the stove and life simply carrying on.