Klostertal

The title of this article is ambiguous. Further meanings are listed under Klostertal (disambiguation) .

Klostertal
Innerbraz aerial view
location	Austria , Vorarlberg
Waters	Alfenz
Mountains	Lechquellen Mountains , Verwall
Geographical location	47 ° 7 '  N , 9 ° 59'  E Coordinates: 47 ° 7 '  N , 9 ° 59'  E
Type	Kerbtal
height	587 to  1793  m above sea level A.
length	30 km

The Klostertal is an alpine valley in the Austrian Vorarlberg . It branches off from the Walgau near Bludenz and extends around 30 kilometers east to the Arlberg and the state border with Tyrol . It consists of the three communities of Klösterle am Arlberg , Dalaas and Innerbraz as well as the three Bludenz towns of Bings , Radin and Auserbraz with an area of ​​193.6 km² and around 4,684 inhabitants (as of 2011) .

geography

Communities

The Klostertal communities all belong to the Bludenz district:

• Klösterle (altitude: 1,073 m)
• Dalaas (altitude: 835 m)
• Innerbraz (altitude: 708 m)
• Bludenz (altitude: 587 m; only the districts of Bings, Radin and Auserbraz of the city of Bludenz belong geographically to the Klostertal)

Neighboring regions

The surrounding mountain groups are in italics .

Walgau	Great Walsertal Lechquellen Mountains	Arlberg
Bludenz		Stanzertal
	Montafon Verwall group

Natural conditions

Muttjöchle

From a geological point of view, the Klostertal is characterized by many faults and different rock sequences. The Klostertal is the westernmost of the long valleys that arose on the border of the Northern Limestone Alps and the Crystalline Central Alps. South of the valley is the Verwall group, which consists of old crystalline and belongs to the Silvretta ceiling. The northern limit of the Kristallin in Klostertal is approximately marked by the course of the Alfenz river . The northern edge is formed by a zone of gneiss phyllites and mica schist (phyllite gneiss cover), is part of the lower Silvretta cover and is called the Lechquellen Mountains. This geologically very varied stratification explains the current shape of the valley. For example, when looking at the rather flat confluence of the Klostertal into the main valley, there is no pronounced confluence here, as is otherwise the case with all side valleys in Vorarlberg. In shaping the valley, the main work was done by the flowing water, but the glacier erosion more or less transformed the Kerb valley into a trough valley.

The climate in Klostertal is also strongly influenced by the shape of the terrain. The westerly winds bringing down precipitation can penetrate the valley unhindered, but experience the damming effect of the mountains here. The Klostertal is one of the wettest valleys in Austria. A lot of rain and snow are the result, which is beneficial for snow reliability in winter tourism.

Sunshine, clouds, fog and temperature correspond to large local differences due to the relief. Since the climatic conditions in the smallest of spaces are often very different, the farmers of the valley have been following the seasonal course of tanning for a long time, due to the agricultural land use, in order to be able to use the areas optimally.

The climate also has a major impact on the vegetation. While larch is mainly found in the Stanzertal, east of the Arlberg, in the Klostertal, west of the Arlberg, the beech is the most common. In the Klostertal itself there is a noticeable change in vegetation due to climatic and petrographic conditions. It is often clearly visible where the crystalline in the south meets the limestone in the north. Because in the south, a dark spruce forest changes into a mixed forest zone and then in the north into a mixed forest zone with a high proportion of beech and from a height of over 1400 m back into a coniferous forest zone. This sometimes sharp demarcation is easily recognizable and very noticeable when looking at the Klostertal.

In summary, it can be said that due to the rough surface forms and the rough climatic conditions, the Klostertal is assigned a rather wild and romantic landscape character.

history

No great history was written in the Klostertal itself. The residents felt the effects of the changes in power and territory only in a change in the attitude of the respective sovereigns to the support of the Arlberg traffic. There were no major battles in the Klostertal, armies from various countries only used the Arlberg as a transition to the Tyrolean or the foreland.

The name of the Klostertal can be explained historically with the handover of the chapel in St. Marienthal by Count Hugo I von Montfort in 1219 to the Johanniterhaus in Feldkirch. In return for the foundation received, the Order of St. John had to at least give the poor people passing by shelter, fire and water. For this purpose a hospice was built, which, like the place that developed around this hospice, was called Klösterle. The whole valley was later called Klostertal, which replaced the former name of St. Marienthal.

The history of the Klostertal shows the intimate connection between the fate of the residents and the importance of the valley as a traffic route. Therefore, the history of transport is treated as a separate sub-chapter as follows.

traffic

The shortest connection between Tyrol and Vorarlberg goes over the 1793 m high Arlberg Pass . This alpine cross-connection can be overcome "with the smallest single ascent and descent within the mountains and without crossing the main Alpine ridge from one main cross-traffic street of the first rank to the next".

However, the Klostertal was often bypassed extensively due to the anti-traffic phenomena of the high mountain nature. Especially the bypass over the Fernpass and the Allgäu were used. The Arlberg, which is snow-covered for most of the year, was only a modest mule track and was not an important mode of transport for a long time until the High Middle Ages. Only in the 12th and 13th centuries did the Arlberg traffic increase in importance. This can be explained by the crusades, the increase in neighborly relations between the Counts of Tyrol and Vorarlberg, the emergence of new cities and thus increasing trade needs. In the 13th and 14th centuries the importance of the Arlberg increased due to the economic and political relations between Tyrol and Vorarlberg. In 1425 the municipality of Klösterle in the Klostertal gained the right to have carters to transport goods. With the right to transport goods and collect customs duties, the municipality was obliged to keep roads and bridges in a usable condition. But in the middle of the 15th century the arduous mule tracks and the high tariffs caused a renewed decline in the Arlbergweg. The further neglect of the path was the result, while the bypass connections were continuously improved. Up until the 1760s, the Arlbergweg was poorly repaired and a new road connection from Bregenz via Scheffau to the Allgäu was created. However, Bregenz and Lindau could no longer enforce their interests in the tariffs of the bypass connections against the centralistic imperial policy of Joseph II. Because Josef II was primarily interested in making Arlbergstrasse usable again in order to realize his political and military intentions. Because the movement of goods from the Adriatic ports to south-west Germany, which up to now mostly went via Graubünden passes, should now be directed through its own territory as far as possible. Industrialization in western Austria should also be promoted by improving traffic conditions.

In 1785 the path was made makeshift so that it could be used continuously by car. A thorough expansion of the Bludenz – Landeck route did not begin until 1822, and in October 1824 the 3.5 to 6.5 m wide art road across the Arlberg was completed. As a result of this development, Arlberg traffic experienced a strong boom. The abolition of road tariffs and the clearing and the introduction of a regular postal service increased the importance of the traffic connection of the pass.

However, not even three decades later, traffic in the Arlberg dropped sharply again. The reasons for this are the opening of the Allgäu Railway Munich – Lindau (1853) and the Kufstein – Innsbruck railway line (1858), which means that most of the transports previously routed via the Arlberg were shifted to the southern German rail connections due to the shorter transport times.

It was only with the construction of the railway that the Arlberg connection became a major European traffic route. The construction of the Arlberg tunnel and the Innsbruck – Landeck valley line took place from 1880 to 1883. At the same time, the railway opened up access to the high mountains for the newly emerging ski sport. The thorough renovation of Flexenstrasse (1895–1897) also resulted in an increase in tourism to the upper Lechtal, and the Arlbergstrasse, which served as a feeder, also gained in importance.

The 20th century was characterized by a constant increase in travel and freight traffic, which required constant adjustments to the transport infrastructure. The coal shortage after the First World War led to the electrification of the Arlberg route. The increasing car traffic in the inter-war period pushed for the progressive expansion of the roads. The Reichsstraße over the Arlberg, designed for carriage traffic, has now been replaced by the asphalted B 190 federal road with the first bypasses and, since 1970, with annual construction progress, by the S16 Arlberg expressway. Winter safety through avalanche barriers came into the focus of the Arlberg development.

Today the Klostertal is very important as a traffic connection between Vorarlberg and the rest of Austria. In terms of transport, the Klostertal is opened up by the S 16 expressway, the L 97 state road and the ÖBB western railway line.

tourism

Klösterle am Arlberg in winter

Tourism was also influenced for a long time by the importance of the Klostertal as a transport route. Due to the length and difficulty of the route through the Klostertal, travelers, haulers and wagons were forced to spend the night in the valley. As a result, hostels and warming rooms have been established since the Middle Ages.

With the expansion of traffic, the number of houses built to provide shelter, accommodation and food for travelers also increased. The length of the travelers' stay was very dependent on the weather. Due to the construction of the railway towards the end of the 19th century, the situation of the hostels changed and many were deserted or on the verge of economic ruin. Only after the construction of the railway was finished did a new category of guests appear in the Klostertal communities, namely tourists who visited the various places because of the landscape and the interesting railway facilities.

At the same time, the mountain world was opened up for tourism. The former German and Austrian Alpine Association (DuÖAV) built huts for hikers and mountaineers to spend the night in the mountains. Most of the Alpine Club huts that were built at that time are still managed today.

Dalaas in the Klostertal

At the beginning of the 20th century, skiing created a new branch of tourism, the immense importance of which still affects alpine tourism and the Klostertal today. Hannes Schneider , who came from Stuben am Arlberg in particular, was a successful ski pioneer and founder of the “Arlberg School”. Through his "Arlbergschule" or Arlbergtechnik, founded in 1922, and through the educational films by Arnold Fanck, he propagated the stem arc and a driving style adapted to the alpine terrain, thus making the Arlberg area an international ski sports center (cf. Thöni, 1990). This helped the Arlberg to become well known and the winter holiday in this region was born.

Today the Klostertal is looked after by two tourism organizations:

• Municipality of Klösterle: Klösterle & Stuben Tourismus GmbH
• Municipalities of Innerbraz and Dalaas: Destination Alpenregion Bludenz GmbH

Examples of hiking routes

Surname	length	Altitude	Level of difficulty	Duration
Circular hike Tobelfalz / Braz	6.8 km	81 m	Light	2 hours
Alpe Nenzigast	4.3 km	487 m	Light	2 hours
Sonnenkopf - Wasserstubenalpe / Klösterle	2.1 km	15 m	Light	30 minutes
Natural monument ”Fallbach” / Dalaas	4.8 km	79 m	Light	2 hours 30 minutes
Circular hike Unterrifats / Braz	4.9 km	89 m	Light	1 hour 30 minutes
Schattenmähder / Dalaas / Wald am Arlberg	7.5 km	405 m	Light	2 hours 30 minutes
Across the Steinerne Meer - Formaletsch to Formarinsee / Dalaas	8.4 km	345 m	medium	3 hours 30 minutes
From the mountain station to the valley station on the Sonnenkopf / Klösterle	4.9 km	40 m	Light	2 hours
Pond on Alfenzweg / Dalaas / Wald am Arlberg	3.7 km	162 m	Light	1 hour 15 minutes
Muttjöchle, 2074 m / Dalaas	6 km	255 m	Light	1 hour 45 minutes
Village trail / Wald am Arlberg	4.5 km	117 m	Light	1 hour 15 minutes
Village trail / Dalaas	3 km	99 m	Light	45 minutes
Gavaralpe / Braz or Dalaas	12.4 km	718 m	Light	4 hours 30 minutes
Roman cellar	5.1 km	718 m	Light	1 hour 30 minutes
Circular hike Garmauscha - Kaiser / Dalaas	Length 4.2 km	218 m	Light	1 hour 30 minutes
Around the Formarinsee / Dalaas	4.7 km	140 m	Light	1 hour 30 minutes

Mountain hiking tours (suggestions)

Surname	length	Altitude	Level of difficulty	Duration
"Stebok Wäg" from Dalaas to Formarinsee / Freiburger Hütte / Dalaas	16 km	1079 m	6 hours
Muttjöchle - Kristberg / Dalaas	10.3 km	336 m	medium	4 hours
Roggelskopf, 2284 m / Dalaas	7 km	615 m	medium	3 hours 30 minutes
Kaltenberghütte / St. Christoph	12.2 km	677 m	medium	4 hours 30 minutes
Dalaas - Küngs Maisäss to Montafon - Dalaas / Dalaas	10.4 km	941 m	medium	5 hours 15 minutes
Nenzigast - Sonnenkopf / Klösterle	17.3 km	1472 m	medium	6 hours
Burtschakopf, 2244 m / Klösterle am Arlberg	10.8 km	682 m	medium	4 hours 45 minutes
Klösterle - Burtschakopf, 2,244 m / Klösterle am Arlberg	12.9 km	1282 m	Heavy	6 hours 45 minutes
Over the Gehrengrat to Spullersee / Dalaas	15, 4 km	561 m	Heavy	6 hours 45 minutes
Dalaas	7.2 km	477 m	Heavy	4 hours

Mountain bike tours (suggestions)

Surname	length	Altitude	Level of difficulty	Duration
Klostertal cycle path / Klostertal	52.5 km	509 m	Light	3 hours 45 minutes
To the Nenzigasttal / Klösterle am Arlberg	12.4 km	405 m	medium	2 hours
2-valley tour: Sonnenkopf - Kristberg / Dalaas-Wald am Arlberg	30.1 km	1137 m	Heavy	4 hours 45 minutes
Around the Itonskopf / Dalaas	34.7 km	1565 m	Heavy	5 hours
Alpine cross through Vorarlberg / Klostertal	78.4 km	2688 m	Difficult to very difficult	12 hours
To Formarinsee / Lech	30.7 km	578 m	medium	3 hours
Circumnavigation of the Spullersee / Lech	24.6 km	575 m	medium	3 hours

Regional development

Logo REGIO Klostertal

On April 17, 1974, the Regional Planning Association (REGIO) Klostertal was founded with the aim of promoting the regional political development of the Klostertal region. The then mayors of Dalaas, Innerbraz and Klösterle as well as the mayors of Bings, Radin and Auserbraz saw the purpose of this association in a cross-community cooperation for the benefit of the entire valley, especially for the population. Until 2006 the REGIO Klostertal was then run under the chairman Ernst Fritz.

On September 15, 2006, the founding meeting in the Kristbergsaal in Dalaas marked the start of the “Regional Planning Association (REGIO) Klostertal NEW”. After more than 30 years of cooperation between the city of Bludenz and the municipalities of Innerbraz, Dalaas and Klösterle am Arlberg, this cooperation was given a new quality. In the association statutes of REGIO Klostertal, the purpose of the association was defined as follows: "The association, whose activity is non-partisan and not for profit, aims to promote the regional political development of the Klostertal region." Numerous important projects have been tackled immediately since the re-establishment, for example the preparation of the public transport service contract (ÖPNV), the development of the corporate design and the participation in the EU program LEADER with various projects and initiatives.

Web links

Wikivoyage: Klostertal  - Travel Guide

• http://www.klostertal.org

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b c} H. Tiefenthaler: Nature and traffic on the west side of the Arlberg . Innsbruck Geographical Studies, 1973, pp. 12–33
2. ^ Frank Lerchenmüller: The Klostertal - population and economy . Contributions to alpine economic and social research. Wagner'sche Universitätsbuchhandlung Innsbruck Kommissionsverlag, 1970.
3. ↑ H. Tiefenthalter: Arlbergweg - Alpine traffic culture on Arlbergweg from Landeck to Bludenz . Preliminary study for a traffic-historical adventure hiking trail over the Arlberg. Order from the Office of the Vorarlberg State Government; Dept. VIIa spatial planning, Bregenz 2002