Mountain Hut on Petzen

Peca, known in German as Petzen, is a broad, high massif at the western end of the Karavanke, on the border between Slovenia and Austria, and its summit ridge rises to over 2,100 metres. The mountain towers above the Mežica valley and the small town of Črna na Koroškem, in the Koroška region, and its slopes are a mixture of dense forest, high pastures and bare limestone. Beneath it lie the old lead and zinc mine workings that once made the valley prosperous, and the surface has long been popular with walkers, who come for the long views and the quiet. A mountain hut on its slopes offers a base for those who wish to explore the massif.

Mountain huts are a central institution of Slovene mountaineering. The Slovenian Alpine Association was founded in the late nineteenth century, and it quickly built a network of huts across the Julian Alps, the Kamnik-Savinja Alps and the Karavanke, with the aim of making the mountains accessible and safe. Huts of this kind provide beds in dormitories and small rooms, simple hot meals, soup, stews, strudel and tea, and a chance to talk to other walkers and hosts who know the trails and the weather. A hut on Peca follows the same tradition, giving walkers a place to rest, eat and sleep before continuing to the summit or the border ridge, and it is usually open during the main hiking season, from early summer to autumn.

The paths to the hut start from the valley around Črna and Mežica and follow marked routes through forest and meadows, climbing steadily but without technical difficulty, so they are suitable for walkers with reasonable fitness and good boots. From the hut, further paths lead to the high points of the massif, among them Kordeževa Glava, the summit of Peca on the Slovene side, from which the view stretches over the valleys of Koroška and across the border into Carinthia. Weather on the mountain can turn quickly, with fog, wind and afternoon storms, so it is wise to start early and to carry a waterproof jacket.

The surroundings add interest. Knieps, also called Königov Vrh, is another high point in the area, and the Najevska lipa is an ancient linden tree, one of the old trees that mark farms and chapels in these hills. Walkers can combine a day on the mountain with a visit to the Podzemlje Pece mine, where tours take visitors into the former workings, so the surface and the underground give two sides of the same mountain. Check the hut's opening dates and booking arrangements before travelling, as they vary with season and weather.