ÖTK-Kletterhalle

Climbing in a medieval town house

The ÖTK-Kletterhalle is the climbing centre of the Österreichischer Touristenklub (ÖTK), one of Austria's oldest alpine clubs. It fills the club's listed headquarters on Bäckerstraße, a building dating from the first half of the 13th century, five minutes' walk from the Stephansplatz, Stubentor and Schwedenplatz U-Bahn stations, and the club has trained climbers and mountaineers here since 1927. About 950 m² of climbing spreads over four floors, with walls up to 15 m, four large bouldering rooms (including new rooms for beginners and improvers), tilting walls, a campus board, wall bars and gymnastics and training rooms. There are more than 5,000 holds, climbable shop windows on the street, and underfloor heating in winter.

Hall rules

Register and accept the hall rules before you climb. Visitors climb on top rope; lead climbing is only allowed in courses, with an instructor and a top-rope backup. The rules require a helmet, ban open and liquid chalk, and allow bouldering only up to about 2 m above the mats. Under-14s must be supervised and need a parent's written consent, as do under-18s climbing on their own. Lockers are free during opening hours, and food is only allowed in the bistro.

Courses

The ÖTK's climbing school runs taster sessions, courses for families, children from four, young people and adults, bouldering courses, private lessons, school and group sessions, climbing therapy, instructor training and route-setting courses, and the hall can be booked for birthdays and company events. Parents can't stay in the hall during children's courses. The club's alpine shop is in the same building.