| Lechtal | |
|---|---|
 The Upper Lech valley | |
| Length | 75 kilometres (47 mi) |
| Geology | |
| Type | Trogtal |
| Geography | |
| Location | Tirol, Vorarlberg (Naturpark) |
| Coordinates | 47°19′50″N10°31′40″E / 47.33056°N 10.52778°E |
| Mountain range | Lechquellengebirge, Lechtaler Alpen, Allgäuer Alpen |
| Rivers | Lech |
The Lechtal is an alpine valley in Austria, the greater part of which belongs to the state of Tyrol and the smaller part to Vorarlberg. The Lech river flows through the valley.
The valley is bounded geographically by the Lechtal Alps in the south and Allgäu Alps in the north. The upper Lech valley, with its settlements of Zürs am Arlberg and Lech in Vorarlberg, is a well-known ski region, whilst the rest of the valley is rather less well developed for tourism. There are industrial and trading estates, especially in the Reutte Basin.
Several side valleys branch off the Lechtal including, on the left-hand side, the Hornbachtal and the Tannheimer Tal. On the right, a road through the Namlostal links Stanzach with Berwang and Bichlbach. The route through the Bschlabertal goes to Bschlabs, Boden and over the Hahntennjoch pass to Imst. The Gramaistal and the Kaisertal are also right-hand, side valleys of the Lechtal. Near Füssen the valley transitions to the Bavarian Alpine Foreland.
The settlements of the Tyrol Lech valley are: Steeg - Hägerau - Holzgau - Stockach - Bach - Elbigenalp - Häselgehr - Elmen - Martinau - Vorderhornbach - Stanzach - Forchach, the villages in the side valleys are: Namlos - Hinterhornbach - Bschlabs - Boden - Gramais - Kaisers.
The upper valley is known for its skiregion Lech (Vorarlberg) / Zürs on the Arlberg. This region is an important regional place of employment in the valley and well known for its luxury and exclusive clientele like the Dutch royal house. There are many international luxury brands in the city-center of Lech and therefore, the purchasing power of Lech is one of the highest in Austria (€6,110 per Person). [1]
With 275.000 overnight stays and an above-average stay of 5.2 nights per individual, winter tourism is a significant impact. [2] Many towns profit from the Arlberg and the ski-areas are well interconnected. Tourists can go Skiing, Hiking, Snowshoe hiking, Cross-country skiing, Freeriding, Heliskiing and Snowboarding in the Snowpark "Lech am Schlegelkopf" with 17 obstacles.
Nevertheless, the Lechtal is a year-round destination. The Lechtal National Park offers many possibilities for the warmer seasons like Birdwatching, Hiking, Mountainbiking etc. The Lechtal Hiking Trail (German: Lechweg) is a 125 km trail that originates at the Lake "Formarinsee" in Lech/ Vorarlberg and leads to the falls near Füssen/ Germany. The part in the Lechtal offers a great view into the valley and guides the visitors through one of the last wild river landscapes in Europe. [3]
The Austrian part of the Lech valley is remarkable in that it is home to three very different dialect regions. The municipalities in the upper reaches of the valley, up to and including Steeg and Kaisers, belong to the Highest Alemannic German dialect region. The central Lechtal valley from Holzgau to Stanzach is part of the Bavarian language region. The lowest part of the valley from Forchach, in the east as far as the Lähn (municipality of Bichlbach) is predominantly a Swabian speaking area. The Highest Alemannic and Swabian areas are part of the Alemannic German dialect region.
In 1997 serious work began on a proposal to establish a national park within the Tyrolean Lech valley. The Nationalpark Tiroler Lechtal was to cover an area of 41,38 km² and reaches from the municipality Steeg, Tyrol to Vils, Tyrol on the southern border of Germany. It covers the wild river Lech with all its water meadows, side valleys, flooding plains and part of the surrounding mixed mountain forests and is one of the last wild river landscapes with a constantly shifting river bed. [4]
The official evaluation process for the national park began in early February 2003, but, in 2004, the Tyrolean state government decided instead to establish a nature reserve and grant it the status of a nature park. The decision in favour of a nature park and against an internationally recognised national park was partly because of the interference with hunting that a national park would have caused. [5]
The park is home for one third (1.116) of all species of plants that can be found in Tyrol of which 392 species are considered "valuable" and "endangered". Furthermore, the wild river bed consists of rubble and sand and the form is shifting with every flood. Together with the meadows, this ecosystem hosts much wildlife such as birds, amphibians, insects, spiders ( Arctosa cinerea ), stone crayfish and other fish species like the European bullhead. [6]
Worth mentioning are the inner Alpine river landscapes with their juniper trees, stands of Myricaria ( Myricaria germanica ), the variety of birds and at least 1,160 identified wildflowers.
Tourism forms an important part of the economy of Austria, accounting for almost 9% of the Austrian gross domestic product. Austria has one guest bed for every six inhabitants, and boasts the highest per capita income from tourism in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. As of 2007, the total number of tourist overnight stays is roughly the same for summer and winter season, with peaks in February and July/August.
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.
Bludenz is a town in the westernmost Austrian state of Vorarlberg with around 15.000 inhabitants. It is the administrative seat of the Bludenz District, which encompasses about half of Vorarlberg's territory.
The Lech is a river in Austria and Germany. It is a right tributary of the Danube 255 kilometres (158 mi) in length with a drainage basin of 3,919 square kilometres (1,513 sq mi). Its average discharge at the mouth is 115 m3/s (4,100 cu ft/s). Its source is located in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg, where the river rises from lake Formarinsee in the Alps at an altitude of 1,870 metres (6,120 ft). It flows in a north-north-easterly direction and crosses the German border, forming the Lechfall, a 12-metre-high (39 ft) waterfall; afterwards the river enters a narrow gorge. Leaving the Alps, it enters the plains of the Allgäu at Füssen at an elevation of 790 metres (2,580 ft) in the German state of Bavaria, where it used to be the location of the boundary with Swabia. The river runs through the city of Füssen and through the Forggensee, a man-made lake which is drained in winter. Here, it forms rapids and a waterfall.
Montafon is a 39 km long valley in the westernmost Austrian federal state of Vorarlberg.
Sankt Anton am Arlberg, commonly referred to as St Anton, is a village and ski resort in the Austrian state of Tyrol. It lies in the Tyrolean Alps, with aerial tramways and chairlifts up to 2,811 m (9,222 ft), yielding a vertical drop of 1,507 m (4,944 ft). It is also a popular summer resort among trekkers and mountaineers.
Landeck is a city in the Austrian state of Tyrol, the capital of the district of Landeck.
The Arlberg is a massif between Vorarlberg and Tyrol in Austria. The highest peak is the Valluga at 2,811 metres (9,222 ft). Ski resorts at the Arlberg include Lech, Zürs, Stuben, St. Christoph, St. Anton, Oberlech, Stubenbach, Zug, and Warth.
Zürs is one of the most renowned winter sports resorts in the Alps. Located in the westernmost Austrian state of Vorarlberg, almost directly on the border to North Tyrol, near the Flexenpass, Zürs is part of the Arlberg region, which also includes Lech, Oberlech, Zug, and Stubenbach. This region offers 87 ski-lifts, 200 kilometers of deep snow slopes and 305 km of ski runs. It has several hotels and guest houses, with a total of over 1,700 beds. It is popular for its downhill skiing, but also for its backcountry skiing and its Olympic ski championships. About four kilometers north of Zürs is Lech am Arlberg, another ski resort which is linked to Zürs not only via road, but also via ski lifts and pistes.
Lech am Arlberg is a mountain village and an exclusive ski resort in the Bludenz district in the westernmost Austrian state of Vorarlberg, on the banks of the river Lech.
The Bezirk Reutte is an administrative district in Tyrol, Austria. It borders Bavaria (Germany) in the north, the districts Imst and Landeck in the south, and Bregenz and Bludenz in the west. The district is also referred to as Außerfern.
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.
Weißenbach am Lech is a municipality in the Austrian district of Reutte, Tyrol.
The Ammergau Alps are a mountain range in the Northern Limestone Alps in the states of Bavaria (Germany) and Tyrol (Austria). They cover an area of about 30 x 30 km and begin at the outer edge of the Alps. The highest summit is the Daniel which has a height of 2,340 metres (7,680 ft).
The Tyrolean Oberland is that part of the Austrian state of Tyrol west of Innsbruck or, more precisely, west of the Melach river, but excluding the Außerfern region.
Tyrol is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, from its formation in the 12th century until 1919. In 1919, following World War I and the dissolution of Austria-Hungary, it was divided into two modern administrative parts through the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye:
The Ausserfern Railway is a cross-border railway line in the German state of Bavaria and the Austrian state of Tyrol. The single-tracked branch line starts from Kempten in Germany, before crossing into Austria just after passing through Pfronten. It then transits the Außerfern area around Reutte, before passing back into Germany in order to terminate at Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
Außerfern refers to the district of Reutte in the Austrian federal state of Tyrol.
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.
Stuben am Arlberg is a winter sports resort in the town of Klösterle in the westernmost Austrian province of Vorarlberg. It is located at an altitude of 1,410 meters and had 90 inhabitants.
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