Great Walsertal
| Great Walsertal | ||
|---|---|---|
 View southwest from the foot of the Blasenka over the Seewaldsee , the only lake in the valley, strangely lying on the ridge, and the lower Großwalsertal |
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| location | Vorarlberg , Austria | |
| Waters | Lutz | |
| Mountains | Northern Limestone Alps | |
| Geographical location | 47 ° 14 ' N , 9 ° 56' E | |
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| Type | Kerbtal | |
| length | 25 km | |
The Große Walsertal is located in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg . It is a side valley of the Walgau and extends from it in a northerly direction to the mountainous center of the country. The end of the valley borders on the Bregenz Forest . The great Walsertal is best known for the UNESCO biosphere park of the same name.
The name of the valley comes from the Walsers who moved here from Valais in the 13th century .
geography
Location and landscape
The Große Walsertal is located in the northern Limestone Alps between the subgroups of the Bregenzerwald Mountains (in the north) and the Lechquellen Mountains (in the south and east).
The 25 km long alpine V-shaped valley - from popularly known as "durchtobeltes Tobel characterized with many ravines" - is from Lutz traversed -Bach. The north, in particular, which still belongs to the flysch zone , shows the typical small, rounded-headed valley troughs and side valleys.
Communities
Almost all of the communities are located on the Sonnhang, the north side of the valley. From the beginning of the valley these are:
- Thuringian Mountain
- St. Gerold
- Blons
- Fontanella
- Sunday
- The Sunday district of Buchboden towards the end of the valley is also north of the stream, the community encompasses the entire head of the valley .
South of the Lutz is:
Neighboring regions
- (The surrounding mountain groups are in italics)
|
Laternsertal Walserkamm |
Hinterer Bregenzerwald Zitterklapfen group |
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.svg)
|
Tannberg region Lechquellen Mountains · Arlberg |
|
| Walgau |
Lechquellen Mountains Bludenzer Basin |
Lechquellen Mountains Klostertal |
traffic
The well-developed Faschina Straße (formerly Bundesstraße 193, now L 193) also leads through the valley on a western slope . At the Faschinajoch at 1,485 meters above sea level it leaves the valley and leads down via Damüls to Au in the Bregenzerwald.
Only one hiking trail leads over the Schadona Pass at the end of the valley ( Biberacher Hütte ) into the back forest near Rehmen (municipality of Au) .
history
The Große Walsertal was settled by the Walsers in the 14th century . They emigrated from the area of today's Swiss canton of Valais and also settled regions in today's canton of Graubünden as well as in the Principality of Liechtenstein and in today's federal state of Vorarlberg ( Laternsertal , Kleinwalsertal ).
The Habsburgs ruled Vorarlberg from the 15th century and with it the places in the Großwalsertal, alternating from Tyrol and Upper Austria ( Freiburg im Breisgau ), from Innsbruck even after 1867, when Vorarlberg became the crown land. From the Middle Ages to the 19th century, the municipalities of the Großwalsertal were divided into different rulers , Raggal and Sonntag belonged to the rulership of Blumenegg (seat near Thuringia ), St. Gerold, Blons and the Thüringerberg, at that time not yet a municipality, formed the rule that was granted at times St. Gerold and Fontanella belonged to the Damüls rule .
From 1805 to 1814 the Großwalsertal belonged to the Kingdom of Bavaria , from 1814 back to Austria . With the reorganization of the Vorarlberg court districts in 1806 , the entire Großwalsertal was subordinated to the newly installed Sonnenberg district court with its seat in Bludenz, from which today's political district has developed. The dissolved Damüls rule was completely halved, so that the entire southern side of the upper Damülsertal behind the Faschinajoch - in the Bregenzerwald landscape - also belongs to the Großwalsertal municipality of Fontanella .
The Großwalsertal was part of the French occupation zone in Austria from 1945 to 1955 .
Today around 3500 people live in the Großer Walsertal.
Great Walsertal Biosphere Reserve
The communities of the Großer Walsertal have come together to form the Großes Walsertal Biosphere Park , Vorarlberg's first nature park to be a UNESCO-certified biosphere reserve . Also within the UNESCO Biosphere Program , Man and Biosphere (MAB), a biosphere reserve on a communal basis is a worldwide specialty, but corresponds exactly to the concept of a local acceptance base and the close interweaving of settlement and natural space as a whole: the legal entity of the biosphere reserve is Association of regional planning community Großes Walsertal (REGIO), in which the state, district and municipalities are represented.
The acceptance in the population, as requested by UNESCO in the context of the Local Agenda 21 for biosphere reserves, is excellent. The project was also able to achieve numerous awards, such as the main prize at the European Village Renewal Award 2002, the EDEN Award (European Destinations of Excellence) 2009 and the European Energy Award in silver 2010.
The concept of a biosphere reserve should not be seen as an inaccessible region, because the region is very dependent on tourism. Hiking, biking and skiing are therefore the main attractions, as in the entire Alpine region. In addition to the hiking route examples mentioned below, there are:
- Great Walser Trail with 29 daily stages (from Zermatt to Mittelberg in the Kleiner Walsertal), where stages 27 and 28 lead through the Große Walsertal
- Walserweg Vorarlberg with 25 stages, which leads through the Great Walsertal ''
- Via Alpina , with its stages through the Lechquellen Mountains, past the Biberacher Hut through the Große Walsertal
- Long-distance hiking trail 01 (path section 601) of the European long-distance hiking trail E4 from Faschina over the Hochschere to the Biberacher hut
Examples of hiking routes
| Surname | length | Altitude | Level of difficulty | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marul - Faludriga Alpe - Schwarze Furka - Laguz / Raggal-Marul | 14.2 km | 1320 m | Heavy | 6 hours 30 minutes |
| Bad Rothenbrunnen / Sonntag-Buchboden | 5.2 km | 290 m | Light | 1 hour 30 minutes |
| Unterpartnom - Oberpartnom - Steris / Sunday | 9.5 km | 438 m | medium | 3 hours 30 minutes |
| Core zone Faludriga-Nova / Marul | 10.2 km | 647 m | Heavy | 4 hours 15 minutes |
| Buchboden - Matona Alpe - Bad Rothenbrunnen / Sonntag-Buchboden | 15.1 km | 1124 m | Heavy | 5 hours 15 minutes |
| Wiesweg via Labom / Raggal | 5.8 km | 164 m | Light | 2 hours |
| Wiesweg / Raggal - Ludescherberg | 3.3 km | 125 m | Light | 1 hour |
| Around the Zafernhorn / Fontanella-Faschina | 9.5 km | 750 m | medium | 4 hours |
| To the Seewaldsee / Fontanella | 4.3 km | 138 m | Light | 1 hour |
| Alpine hike on the Walserkamm / Blons - St. Gerold | 12.3 km | 610 m | medium | 4 hours |
| Falvkopf / Blons | 6.1 km | 948 m | Heavy | 3 hours |
| Faschina - Hochschere Fürkele - Buchboden / Fontanella-Faschina & Sonntag-Buchboden | 15.7 km | 950 m | Heavy | 6 hours |
| Gerenspitze, 1871 m / St. Gerold | 16.9 km | 1066 m | medium | 6 hours 45 minutes |
| Hochgerach / Thuringian Mountain | 15.9 km | 1133 m | Heavy | 6 hours 15 minutes |
| Spoon tip, 1962 m / Blons - St. Gerold | 17.5 km | 1190 m | medium | 7 hours45 |
| Glattmar / Sunday | 9.1 km | 668 m | Heavy | 4 hours |
| Kellaspitze, 2017 m / Raggal-Marul | 9.6 km | 1041 m | medium | 5 hours |
| Breithorn, 2,081 m / Sonntag-Stein | 14 km | 1067 m | medium | 6 hours |
Mountain bike route examples
| Surname | length | Altitude | Level of difficulty | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alpe Laguz - Partnom Alps - Sunday / Raggal-Marul | 29.7 km | 1184 m | Heavy | 6 hours |
| Around the Breithorn / Raggal-Marul | 32.3 km | 1360 m | Heavy | 5 hours |
| From Fontanella to the Türtsch Alpe / Fontanella | 32.3 km | 1360 m | Heavy | 5 hours |
| From Fontanella to the Türtsch Alpe / Fontanella | 13.6 km | 628 m | medium | 2 hours |
| From Buchboden to Klesenza Alpe / Sonntag-Buchboden | 17.6 km | 755 m | 3 hours | |
| Around the Zafernhorn / Fontanella-Faschina | 15.3 km | 787 m | Heavy | 3 hours |
| From Buchboden to the Ischkarnei Alpe / Sonntag-Buchboden | 18.6 km | 694 m | Heavy | 3 hours |
| To the Oberüberluth Alpe / Sonntag-Buchboden | 12.6 km | 670 m | medium | 2 hours 30 minutes |
| To the Alpe Sera / Blons | 19.1 km | 782 m | medium | 3 hours |
| To the Gaßner Alpe / St. Gerold | 13.2 km | 691 m | medium | 2 hours 30 minutes |
| To the Plansott Alpe / St. Gerold | 12.8 km | 665 m | medium | 2 hours 15 minutes |
| 2 Alps Tour / St. Gerold | 15.9 km | 761 m | medium | 3 hours |
tourism
Organizationally, the Großwalsertal, along with Bludenz , the Brandnertal and the Klostertal , is part of the " Alpenregion Bludenz " tourist region . In June 2020, 83,533 arrivals and 256,713 overnight stays were recorded in this area. This is a decrease of 59% compared to the previous year due to Corona . As a classic winter sports destination , the Alpine region is much more popular in winter.
Tourism in the Großwalsertal is strongly influenced by the biosphere reserve and the region attracts many tourists every year because of its nature conservation. In summer , activities such as hiking , mountain biking , e-biking , climbing , horse riding and canyoning dominate . All of this is possible in or around the biosphere reserve. Official paths and signage ensure that visitors stay on the paths and do not affect the quiet areas of the nature park. The Große Walsertal has also been part of the Bergsteigerdörfer -Initiative of the PES since 2008 , which aims to promote sustainable tourism .
Winter tourism is comparatively contemplative. There are three ski areas with Faschina , Raggal and Sonntag-Stein and the slopes are only accessible to a limited extent due to environmental regulations. This combination results in a quiet winter destination with a focus on sustainable winter holidays. In addition to skiing , ski tours , winter hikes and cross-country skiing are also possible.
Culture
The Walserherbst cultural festival has been held every two years since 2004. For three weeks, the festival enables encounters with contemporary art and culture in the middle of the Grosses Walsertal. The program includes literature, film, music, theater, exhibitions and workshops.
economy
energy
The municipality of Großes Walsertal is one of the 24 municipalities in Austria (as of March 2019) that were awarded the highest award of the e5 municipal energy project. The e5 community project aims to promote the implementation of a modern energy and climate policy at community level.
literature
- Martin Coy and Norbert Weixlbaumer (eds.): The biosphere reserve as a regional key instrument: The Great Walsertal as seen by its users . Innsbruck University Press, Innsbruck 2009, ISBN 9783902719201 .
- Peter Haßlacher / Regina Stampfl / Roland Kals: The Great Walsertal - Welcome to the UNESCO Biosphere Park, Austrian Alpine Association, Innsbruck 2013, ( online )
Web links
- Homepage of the biosphere reserve
- Walser Library Großes Walsertal
- Mountaineering village Großes Walsertal
- Großes Walsertal , unesco.org → Biosphere Reserve Information
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ferry Orschulik (web design) reigns in the Walgau. Image 29. In: Vorarlberg school media center: series of images → Walgau. S. For more information , accessed 7 July 2011 ( Home School Media Center ).
- ↑ World Database on Protected Areas - Großes Walsertal Biosphere Reserve (English)
- ↑ Organization , grosseswalsertal.at
- ^ Peter Alexander Rumpolt (Institute for Geography and Regional Research, University of Vienna): The self-image in the Großes Walsertal biosphere reserve . In: alpine space - man & environment , Vol. 10: The biosphere reserve as a regional key instrument , innsbruck university press, Innsbruck 2009, ISBN 978-3-902719-20-1 ( pdf , uibk.ac.at).
- ↑ Awards , grosseswalsertal.at
- ↑ Tourism figures June 2020. Office of the Vorarlberg State Government, State Office for Statistics, accessed on August 5, 2020 .
- ↑ Summer activities in the Großes Walsertal biosphere reserve. Retrieved August 5, 2020 .
- ↑ Ideas - Deeds - Facts, No. 1: Start conference mountaineering villages in the mountaineering village of Ginzling, from 10-11. July 2008 , Austrian Alpine Association as part of the project “Specific Alpine Convention: Via Alpina and Mountaineering Villages”, Spatial Planning-Nature Conservation Department, Innsbruck 2008, p. 4. PDF download ( Memento of the original from November 8, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: Der Archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed November 7, 2018.
- ↑ e5 communities in Austria as of March 2019
