Ötzi Observation Deck | 3251 m | NOA

The observation deck, designed by Noa* – network of architecture, is located on Ötzi Peak at the top of the Schnals Valley Glacier.

Ötzi Observation Deck at the Schnals Valley Glacier

Where a raindrop begins its long journey towards the sea, new perspectives emerge. Your mind is refreshed with wide-open views from the new observation deck on the Schnals Valley Glacier. Right at the top of the Schnals Valley Glacier ridge, where Italy towers over the impressive mountain landscape and Austria is just around the corner, there is something sublime about this special place. In this unique geographical location, fate will decide whether a drop of glacier water will go to the Mediterranean or the Black Sea.

At the summit located in the middle of the Italian and Austrian Alps, 50 meters away from the observation deck, there is one of the highest hotels in Europe above sea level – Grawand Hotel!

The observation deck, made of Corten steel structure, is a lightweight structure designed for users visiting the mountain for a day or for a long time. The structure was kept floating at the top of the mountain as much as possible, and contact was avoided unless necessary for static reasons.

Vertical corten elements surrounding the platform in a circular manner are positioned at an angle and depth to provide a permeable or closed view with the movements of the person moving on the platform.

At the edge of the unique platform, where it opens like a funnel, the noa* group focuses visitors’ attention on the location of Europe’s oldest mummy, codenamed Ötzi. The glass railing at the end of the funnel is designed to create the feeling of walking in the landscape at this point of the platform, which is above the cliff.

Briefly, who is Ötzi?

Ötzi, also known as the Iceman, Simulaun Man, Hauslabjoch Man, Tyrolean Iceman, Hauslabjoch Mummy, dates back to B.C. It is a very well preserved mummy under natural conditions of a man who lived between 3400 and 3100 BC. Ötzi was found by two German tourists on September 19, 1991, on the eastern ridge of the Fineilspitze in the Ötztal Alps, on the border between Austria and Italy, at an altitude of 3,210 metres.