Zeinisjoch

Zeinisjoch
Zeinisjoch with fore basin Zeinis and reservoir Kops from the eastern slope of the Versalspitze looking towards Paznaun [T].
Compass direction	west	east
Pass height	1842  m above sea level A.
state	Vorarlberg, Austria	Tyrol, Austria
Watershed	Ill , Rhine	Trisanna , Inn ( Danube )
Valley locations	Partenen	Galtür
expansion	Gravel path (bicycles and pedestrians only)	Street
Mountains	Verwall (N) / Silvretta (S)
profile
Ø pitch	10.8% (700 m / 6.5 km)	6% (300 m / 5 km)
map
Coordinates	46 ° 58 '34 "  N , 10 ° 8' 31"  E Coordinates: 46 ° 58 '34 "  N , 10 ° 8' 31"  E

The Zeinisjoch is located on the border between Vorarlberg and Tyrol and on the Rhine-Danube watershed at 1842  m above sea level. A. The path over the pass connects the Montafon with the Paznaun and separates the Verwall mountain groups in the north and Silvretta in the south.

The difference in altitude between the valley settlements on both sides is quite considerable: Partenen is at 1051  m above sea level. A. and Galtür at 1584  m above sea level. A. That is why water from Tyrolean streams is also directed to Partenen because it can be processed in the Vorarlberg hydropower plants over a significantly higher drop height.

landscape

Immediately below the top of the pass is the Kops reservoir of the illwerke vkw with the Zeinis pre-basin , on which the Zeinisjochhaus is located. Both are artificial reservoirs and fishing grounds. A little to the north above is the small natural lake Zeinissee , near a campsite. The buildings scattered west of the pass bear the name Zeinisjoch as a district of Partenen .

Zeinisjoch ( Rotte )
Basic data
Pole. District , state	Bludenz , Vorarlberg
Judicial district	Bludenz
Pole. local community	Gaschurn   ( KG  Gaschurn)
Locality	Partenen
Coordinates	46 ° 58 ′ 30 ″  N , 10 ° 7 ′ 0 ″  E
height	1822  m above sea level A.
Postcodes	6794  Partenen
Statistical identification
Counting district / district	Partenen (80 110 001)
Source: STAT : index of places ; BEV : GEONAM ; VoGIS

traffic

Zeinis foothills, view to the south. The campsite building on the left, the access to the Kopssee, Zeinisjochhhaus and the campsite on the right. The flat saddle behind the lake in the center of the picture forms the actual Zeinisjoch.

The Zeinisjoch area is served by buses on the 260 Landeck - Galtür - Bielerhöhe line from around mid-June to the end of September. The road there branches off before the toll section of the Silvretta High Alpine Road from the latter, so it is toll-free. The Zeinisjoch area can only be reached by car from the east (Galtür). Driving on the steep west ramp through the Ganifer , the valley below the Kopssee dam, is only permitted with a special permit. With a difference in altitude of 700 meters, it is an interesting alternative for cyclists to the Arlberg Pass and the Silvretta High Alpine Road over the Bielerhöhe , in order to cross the Rhine-Danube watershed on a car-free road. With a fully packed trekking bike, the gradient, which is well over 10 percent over longer sections and up to 20 percent in the steepest sections, must be observed.

For a crossing from east to west from the Paznaun valley towards Montafon, only experienced riders should set out, preferably on a mountain bike. With a fully packed trekking bike, you should avoid another pass in this direction or push yourself in the steepest sections of the descent for safety reasons.

The Zeinisjoch is regularly used on the long-distance cycle paths between Germany and Italy, especially on multi-day transalp tours by mountain bike . The yoke has been approached on the Joe route since 1995, and on the Albrecht route since 2004 . These alpine tours start in Bavaria and end on Lake Garda .

history

Serpentines on the west ramp

First ways

Numerous contemporary objects that were found in the area of ​​the access ramps are evidence of the use of the Zeinisjoch in Roman times. The finds in and around Bludenz are particularly rich; coins, fibulae, remains of weapons, glass rings and idols have been found here at various sites. There are also ancient hostels in the Montafon, which have their origins in Roman mansios . For example that of Matschun near St. Gallenkirch , located where the Vermielbach flows into the Montafon and where paths to the Schlappinerjoch and Garnerajoch once branched off.

The Graubünden document book documents the Alps on Zeinis, in the Verbellatal , on Vallüla and in Vermunt as early as 1089 .

Alemanni who settled in the Montafon came to today's Tyrol via the Zeinisjoch in the early Middle Ages . The people of Paznaun have been trading with the Montafon and beyond since the 15th century. The traffic became so heavy that at the end of the 15th century the mule track was turned into a cart path. A small late medieval inn was also located in the immediate vicinity of the pass. The first documented mention of Säumerei came from the year 1505. The traffic was strongest in the 16th century, which is why a Christian Bot rebuilt a now dilapidated hostel in 1632.

Road construction

Until a path through the Gföll, the narrow gorge of the Trisanna at the exit of the Paznaun into the Stanzer Valley , was built in the 17th century , the Paznaun over the Zeinisjoch was oriented more towards the Montafon than towards the Inntal , and only changed with a new path this. For the Zeinisjoch, however, this path, like other paths built later, came too late, the Arlberg exceeded the Zeinisjoch. A first road through the Paznaun, built in 1792–95, is used today as a valley hiking trail. Today's driveway in Paznaun and Montafon is largely built almost a hundred years later, in the years 1885–87. As a result, a road was also laid across the Zeinisjoch, the so-called "Alte Kopser Straße". The “Neue Kopser Straße” was later built as a works road for the Kopser Reservoir , which leads over the Zeinisjoch but ends at the reservoir behind. The “Alte Straße” also ends there, but a continuation into the Montafon can be used by hikers and bikers. The higher path over the Bielerhöhe , which left the Zeinisjoch deserted, is a more recent creation of the hydropower industry around the Silvretta and in earlier times hardly competed with the Zeinisjoch.

Rail projects

In the second half of the 19th century the project of a railway over the Zeinisjoch was raised, it was the time when the Arlberg railway was also planned. But a railway line over the Zeinisjoch promised hardly any advantages over the one over the Arlberg. Nevertheless, railway construction sites were built on the ramps to the Zeinisjoch. The Montafon received the first electrically operated standard-gauge railway in 1905, as a branch line from the Arlbergbahn, but this did not have the pass as its destination. When the construction of the power plant on the Silvretta began, the railroad moved surprisingly quickly to the Zeinisjoch. The builders of the Silvretta power plant had the 18 km long Tschagguns – Partenen narrow-gauge railway built for the power plant in 1926-28 . Even limited public transport was allowed for a while, but in 1953 this railway line was reopened and dismantled. Today there are only a few remnants of this railway.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Leaflet: "Landeck 10", publisher: Verkehrsverbund Tirol , May 2019.
2. ↑ See also: Alp Strategy Vorarlberg, Summer Summer and Habitat Diversity. Study prepared on behalf of the Vorarlberg Nature Conservation Council, October 2013, p. 45. ( naturschutzrat.at ( Memento from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ))
3. ^ Steffan Bruns: Alpine passes. Volume 2: From Lake Geneva to Lake Constance. Staackmann, 2012, ISBN 978-3-88675-272-0 , p. 17.

Web links

• Guest house and campsite on the Zeinisjoch