The “mountaineering villages” initiative originated from an idea of the Austrian Alpine Association. With the help of the Ministry of Life and a grant from the European Fund for Rural Development we have the opportunity to support the mountaineering villages in the best possible way in their development and within the framework of the Alpine Convention.
The mountaineering villages initiative is currently being coordinated and supervised by four people:
Peter Haßlacher and Christina Schwann from the Austrian Alpine Association, department of Regional Development Nature Conservation and Regina Stampfl and Roland Kals with their planning office arp – planning.consulting.research.
But our main players are of course the representatives of the mountaineering villages, the mayors, tourist operators, representatives of the Alpine Associations, nature reserve guides and restaurateurs.
In addition we work very closely with the Austrian Federal Ministry for Agriculture and Forestry, Environment and Water Management (Ministry of Life) and with the Permanent Secretary's Office of the Alpine Convention.
The Via Alpina, as one of the first projects of the Alpine Convention to be implemented, is also a strong partner of the mountaineering villages.
