Bregenz Forest Mountains | |
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Highest point | |
Peak | Glatthorn |
Elevation | 2,134 m (7,001 ft) |
Geography | |
![]() Bregenzerwald region within Austria | |
Country | Austria |
State | Vorarlberg |
Range coordinates | 47°15′55″N9°52′47″E / 47.26528°N 9.87972°E |
Parent range | Northern Limestone Alps Bavarian Alps |
The Bregenz Forest Mountains, [1] also the Bregenzerwald Mountains (German : Bregenzerwaldgebirge), are a range of the Northern Limestone Alps and Eastern Alps, named after the town of Bregenz. The Bregenz Forest Mountains are located entirely in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg.
The term Bregenz Forest Mountains refers to the range according to the Alpine Club classification of the Eastern Alps (AVE); the term Bregenz Forest, by contrast, refers to a landscape or region which is part of the Bregenzer Ache basin area. As a result, the Bregenz Forest Mountains and the Bregenz Forest are not conterminous.
The Bregenz Forest region also includes the southwestern parts of the Allgäu Alps. On the other hand, the Bregenz Forest Mountains reach, to an extent, into the landscapes of the eastern Rhine Valley, as well as to the Walgau Valley of the Ill River and the Großes Walsertal in the south.
As the range is not geologically uniform, the name is rarely used outside of Alpine literature, is also not used in Vorarlberg state geography and land-use planning and belongs to one of the most disputed mountain groups in the AVE. According to an alternative orographically and hydrologically-oriented mountain range classification (Hubert Trimmel, 1962), the mountains belong to a Rhine Valley–Walgau–Bregenz Forest group.
The mountain range is part of a landscape arranged in several tiers rising from the Rhine Valley in the west up to the adjacent Lechquellen Mountains. Most of the area is shaped by a Mittelgebirge character with extended forests and Alpine pastures, except for small High Alpine region in the southeast.
The Bregenzerwald mountain range is located in the far northwest of the Eastern Alps, east of the lower Alpine Rhine Valley and southeast of Lake Constance. It lies entirely within the Austrian state of Vorarlberg and dominates its northern half.
The perimeter of the Bregenzerwald mountains runs clockwise along the line Lake Constance - Bregenzer Ach - Subersach - Schönenbach - Osterguntenbach - Stogger Sattel - Rehmerbach - Bregenzer Ach - Argenbach - Brägazbach - Faschinajoch - Faschinabach - Seebergbach - Lutz - Ill - Rhine - Lake Constance.
The Faschinajoch connects the Bregenzerwald mountains with the Lechquellengebirge. The Stogger Sattel provides the connection to the Allgäu Alps.
The Bregenz Forest Mountains are bordered by the following other Alpine ranges: [2]
The main peaks of the Bregenz Forest Mountains include the following: see Coordinates Bregenz Forest Mountains
Other important and well-known peaks in the Bregenz Forest Mountains (in order of decreasing height):
Due to its location on the border between the Eastern Alps and the Western Alps, the Bregenz Forest mountains geologically extremely diverse.
The largest part of it can be attributed to the Helvetic, which was formed in the Cretaceous and Paleogene periods. During this period, the Penninic Ocean lay where the Alps are today, and thick limestone deposits formed on its northern edge, the Helvetic Shelf, over the course of millions of years. During the later formation of the Alps, these deposits - which had now become limestone - were pushed northwards and folded several times. The hard siliceous limestone and Schrattenkalk rocks form the rock faces typical of the Bregenzerwald mountains, which are particularly evident in the Schuttannenberge, the Freschengruppe or the northern cliffs of the Damülser Berge, but also in the Winterstaudenkamm. On the other hand, there are the softer, marly Drusberg layers, which weather easily and thus provide a favorable breeding ground for forests and alpine pastures, as can be seen particularly impressively on the Hoher Freschen. Kanisfluh and Mittagsfluh stand out in the middle of this area, consisting of Jurassic limestone and thus the oldest rocks in the Bregenzerwald mountains.
To the north and south of the Helvetic zone are two geological sections known as the flysch zone. During the Upper Cretaceous, large quantities of sand were washed from the Central Alps, which were still below sea level at the time, into a deep-sea channel of the Pennine Ocean. This solidified into sandstone under the pressure prevailing at depth and was later pushed over the Helvetic rocks when the Alps were folded up. Today, large parts of this layer have already been eroded away. It is still present as a northern flysch zone in a narrow strip north of the line Dornbirn - Gütle - Andelsbuch - Sibratsgfäll, i.e. mainly in the Hochälpele-Weißenfluh group, and also as a southern flysch zone south of the line Feldkirch - Satteins - Innerlaterns - Damülser Mittagsspitze - Schoppernau, particularly in the eastern Walser ridge, in the southern Damüls mountains and in the Glatthorn group, and beyond that in individual islands in between, most clearly recognizable in the summit of the Hohe Kugel. Even more than the Drusberg layers, the weathered surface of the sandstone and marl of this zone forms excellent soil for trees and grasses. The mountains of the flysch zone, which are all gently shaped due to the soft rock, are therefore covered with forests and meadows, even on the steepest slopes up to the summits.
The Bregenzerwald mountains north of the line Dornbirn - Egg - Hittisau, i.e. essentially the area of the Lorenaberge, consist of Subalpine Molasse, which was formed - relatively late for the Alps - in the Neogene. During this geological phase, the European plate was pushed downwards by the already rising Alps, so that a sea sink, known as the Paratethys, formed between the newly forming mountains and the continental plate. Rivers transported erosion material from the young Alps into this arm of the sea, where it was then deposited as sediment. In the later course of mountain formation, these rocks were also folded up. Nagelfluh is typical of this zone, but sandstone and marl also occur.
Almost the entire western Bregenzerwald mountains consist of a single, star-shaped, branching mountain range. Starting from the Hoher Freschen, the mountain ranges run east (Damülser Berge), south (Walserkamm), southwest (Alpwegkopf), northwest (Kugel-Schuttannen chain) and north (First-Hochälpele-Gaißkopf chain). Only the Glatthorn group forms a comparatively clearly defined mountain range, which is separated from the Damüls mountains by the deep-cutting Unterdamüls Furka. From the Rhine Valley, the Schwarzach, the Dornbirner Ach (Ebniter Tal), the Frödisch and the Frutz (Laternsertal) cut striking valleys between the chains, from the Bregenzerwald it is mainly the Mellenbach and from the Großes Walsertal the Ladritschbach. With the Staufensee and the Sünser See there are also two larger mountain lakes in this area.
With the Mittagsfluh, the Bizauer Hirschberggruppe, the Hinteregger Grat and the Winterstaudenkamm, the eastern Bregenzerwaldgebirge consists of four mountain ranges of different lengths running parallel from west to east, separated from each other by the Weißenbach, the Bizauer Bach and the Grebenbach, all of which flow westwards into the Bregenzer Ach.
The summit heights throughout the Bregenzerwald mountains rise from northwest to southeast. The mountains are dominated by low mountain ranges covered with meadows and forests, with high mountains only to be found at the extreme southern edge at the transition to the Lechquellen Mountains.
Due to the remoteness of some areas, there are many nature reserves that can be found in the Bregenz Forest Mountains.
In the Bregenzerwald mountains there are comparatively few alpine huts with overnight accommodation. This is due to the fact that the majority of the mountain tours can be undertaken as day trips from the valley valleys.
Mountain huts run by the Austrian Alpine Club:
There are many more huts and restaurants in this region. Therefore, it is advisable to inquire about the exact opening hours and the accessibility of the huts at the Alpenverein or in the valley resorts.
The nordalpine long distance route (DE: Nordalpine Weitwanderweg 01) and the Limestone Alps Way (DE: Kalkalpenweg) runs through the central part of the Bregenzerwald mountain range with the following sections:
The greater part of this section is still in the Lechquellen Mountains. It is only at the Faschina Pass (Faschinajoch) that the Bregenzerwald Forest is entered.
The Via Alpina , a cross-border hiking trail with five partial routes through the whole Alps, runs along the edge of the Bregenzerwald mountain range.
The Red Trail of the Via Alpina runs as follows with two stages through the Bregenzerwald Mountains:
Geology and geography of the Bregenzerwald Mountains are not exactly conducive to the construction of climbing routes. As easy-to-get-on routes of the simplest level can still apply:
Vorarlberg is the westernmost state of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is the state with the second-highest population density. Two thirds of the country are situated above 1,000m. It borders three countries: Germany, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. The only Austrian state that shares a border with Vorarlberg is Tyrol, to the east.
The Bregenzerwald is one of the main regions in the state of Vorarlberg (Austria). It overlaps, but is not coterminous with, the Bregenz Forest Mountains, which belong to a range of the Northern Limestone Alps, specifically the northern flysch zone. It is the drainage basin of the Bregenzer Ach river.
The Bregenzer Ach is the main river of the Bregenz Forest in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg. It is a tributary to Lake Constance and the River Rhine, respectively.
The Rätikon is a mountain range of the Central Eastern Alps, located at the border between Vorarlberg, Liechtenstein and Graubünden. It is the geological border between the Eastern and Western Alps and stretches from the Montafon as far as the Rhine. In the south, the Prättigau is its limit, and in the north, it is the Walgau. In the east, it borders the Silvretta groups. The Rätikon mountain range derives its name from Raetia, a province of the Roman Empire, named after the Rhaetian people.
Karl Blodig was an Austrian mountaineer, optician, and writer. Blodig was the first to successfully climb all Alpine peaks of over 4000 meters, completing his final summit around 1911. He wrote about these climbs in his book Die Viertausender der Alpen, first published in 1923.
Mellau is a town in the Bregenz Forest in the westernmost Austrian state of Vorarlberg, part of the district of Bregenz.
The Großes Wiesbachhorn is a mountain in the federal state of Salzburg, Austria and, at 3,564 m above sea level (AA), is the third-highest peak of the Hohe Tauern range.
The Allgäu Alps are a mountain range in the Northern Limestone Alps, located on the Austria–Germany border, which covers parts of the German states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg and the Austrian states of Tyrol and Vorarlberg. The range lies directly east of Lake Constance.
The Schober group is a sub-range of the Hohe Tauern mountains in the Central Eastern Alps, on the border between the Austrian states of Tyrol and Carinthia. Most of the range is located inside Hohe Tauern national park. It is named after Mt. Hochschober, 3,242 metres (10,636 ft), though its highest peak is Mt. Petzeck at 3,283 metres (10,771 ft).
The Kanisfluh is a mostly isolated massif in the central Bregenz Forest Mountains between the municipalities Mellau and Au.The Kanisfluh is considered the most famous mountain and landmark of the Bregenz Forest, Vorarlberg, Austria.
The First Schafalpenkopf or Southwestern Schafalpenkopf is a 2,272-metre-high mountain in the Allgäu Alps. It is part of the Schafalpenköpfe and the Mindelheim Klettersteig.
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The Goldberg Group is a sub-group of the Hohe Tauern mountain range within the Central Eastern Alps. It is located in Austria, in the states of Salzburg and Carinthia. Its highest peak is the Hocharn, 3,254 m (AA). Other well known summits are the Hoher Sonnblick, with its observatory at 3,106 m above sea level (AA), and the Schareck at 3,123 m above sea level (AA)
The Lechquellen Mountains or Lechquellen range is a small mountain group within the Northern Limestone Alps of the Eastern Alps. It lies entirely within the Austrian state of Vorarlberg and includes the upper reaches of the river Lech with its headstreams in a horseshoe shape as well as the Upper Großwalsertal valley.
The Glatthorn in Vorarlberg in Austria is the highest mountain in the Bregenz Forest Mountains with a height of 2,133 m (AA). It lies west of and above the saddle of Faschinajoch, between Damüls to the north and Fontanella in the Großwalsertal to the south.
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The Großer Widderstein is a mountain, 2,533 m (AA), in the west Austrian state of Vorarlberg. Topographically it belongs to the Allgäu Alps. It is the highest peak in the subgroup of the Southeastern Walsertal Mountains.
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