Kleinwalsertal

The Kleinwalsertal seen from the summit of Aries stone from

The Kleinwalsertal (also: Little Walser Valley ) is a valley in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg. It includes the municipality of Mittelberg and is part of the district Bregenz. Due to its geographical location in the Allgäu Alps, with its alpine terrain structure Kleinwalsertal has no direct transport links to the rest of Vorarlberg country. The valley is only accessible from the neighboring village of Oberstdorf in Bavaria on a road. It is thus for Germany a so-called functional enclave or Pene - Enclave ( see also Jung wood).

The name of the valley comes from the Walser, who moved here from the Valais in the 13th century (see also Großwalsertal ).

• 2.1 Stone Age finds
• 2.2 Middle Ages
• 2.3 After 1800

• 3.1 Tourism 3.1.1 Winter Sports

• 4.1 Security

Geography

Location and mountain scenery

Kleinwalsertal is a high-altitude valley V ( V-shaped valley ) in the Allgäu Alps and is located in the east of Vorarlberg. The Breitach runs through the valley and is fed by several tributaries, which originate from the side valleys of the Kleinwalsertals.

The Kleinwalsertal is almost completely surrounded by high mountains. These are among the Allgäu Alps, which are a part of the northern Eastern Alps. Its highest point is the Great Aries Stone ( 2533 m). From them the Kleinwalsertal against the rest of the country of Austria is cut off. A transport connection is only for on the Bavarian side lying Oberstdorf ( enclave ). From this geographic isolation resulted and results in a number of special features, see history and economy.

Other mountains are the High Ifen ( 2,230 m ), the pulpit wall ( 2058 m), the fur Horn ( 2038 m) and the Walmendinger Horn (1990 m).

Structure

The Kleinwalsertal includes the municipality of Mittelberg and the three places Mittelberg, Hirschegg and Riezlern. The official name of this whole community is Medium Mountain after the first of populated place. Covering an area of ​​96.82 square kilometers and 5034 inhabitants, which gives a population density of nearly 52 inhabitants per square kilometer (as at 30 June 2010).

The small valley, also Breitach valley, after Breitach, has the following side valleys and streams:

History

The Kleinwalsertal was settled in 1270 by the Walser, an ethnic group that immigrated from Switzerland. This Alemannic origin distinguishes the inhabitants linguistically today by the residents of the surrounding communities. Their dialect is assigned to the maximum Alemannic, while speaking a low- Alemannic dialect and the rest of Vorarlberg a high of Alemannic dialect ( Vorarlbergerisch ) in the Allgäu.

Stone Age finds

The Kleinwalsertal was already inhabited in the Stone Age. Testify led by Detlef Willand excavations at the cemetery, where, among other scrapers, arrowheads and fire pits from the Neolithic period came to light. Parts of these finds can be seen in the mountain exhibition at the Events Center Walser house in Hirschegg.

On Aries Stein and the bear's head also of Geoarchäologen Alexander Binsteiner were discovered Radiolaritabbaustellen after the extensive prospecting. Probably the most valuable rock was removed in these Neolithic mines with deer antler hoes or fist-sized hammers. It is still under investigation, the extent to which the stones were traded far beyond the borders of Kleinwalsertals.

Middle Ages

After 1800

• Through the consolidation of the Kingdom of Bavaria and the Habsburg Monarchy of Austria- Hungary and the establishment of customs barriers, the economic life of the Walser was very very difficult. Because of missing road links to the rest of Austrian territory the exchange of goods was made almost impossible. The main businesses, made with agricultural products such as cattle, cheese and butter, had been hitherto carried out to Bavaria and duty paid there. As of 1878, tightened its current customs restrictions Bavaria and the Walser farmers forbade the sale of cattle in the neighboring Allgäu, although this had been the custom for centuries. Farmers were now forced to take their cattle on mountains and passes to the Vorarlberg markets. Since the repelling of cattle was too time-consuming and uneconomical, farmers sold their animals currently offered prices that could be very unfavorable. Almost the entire 19th century fought the Walser citizens for a special economic zone, and in 1891 they reached that goal. The municipality of Mittelberg received the long -awaited status of a customs enclave. For the free movement of goods with Germany was possible again for agricultural products and other important items of trade. From then on it was in the valley economically upward again.

Economy

The valley is Austria's third largest tourist destination today. The centuries most important industry was agriculture, which currently only has a marginal significance. In 1960 the number of overnight stays reached one million for the first time. In the tourism year 2001/ 02 there were a total of 1.67818 million overnight stays at a capacity of 12,000 beds.

The hiking and excursion tourism - especially for families with small children and the elderly - is very pronounced. The selection of easy walking trails and moderately difficult hiking trails is correspondingly broad and well signposted. With the tightly scheduled propelled Walserbus, which is the tax -paying tourists free as holders of Walsercard available that mobility is guaranteed in the valley without a car.

To the strong expression of tourism also helped the good transport links to the north. So you need for the route Stuttgart -Kleinwalsertal only about two and a half hours.

In 2003 there were 243 on-site businesses with 1,573 employees and 144 apprentices; wage tax were employed 2,518 people.

Tourism

Tourism is the most important economic factor in the valley, where the summer tourism now is about the same as the pronounced in winter.

So were the number of overnight stays in winter 2008/ 09 802 538 compared with 770 800 in the summer of 2008. Skiing is a sense the mainstay of winter tourism in the small valley, but in addition also have ski mountaineering and winter hikes simple meaning.

In summer, guests usually travel for hiking and mountain hiking. At the border of the neighboring municipality of Oberstdorf, there are also two very popular via ferrata ( Mindelheimer Ferrata and two countries via ferrata ), which are mostly visited because of the shorter Zustieges from Kleinwalsertal and hence of local tourism is important.

The sport climbing on Ifen and on Bärenköpfle are among the best in the Alps. Nevertheless, the associated potential for eco-tourism, in contrast to the nearby Tyrol is not used because the sport climbing is from hunting grounds severely restricted or banned altogether. These restrictions were particularly given the extensive surveying the surroundings of climbers, associations are not criticized as inappropriate and technically sound. So wrote the Alpin magazine that " [ ... ] such a restricted area fits well into the overall concept of Kleinwalsertal: Hard and louder tourism with great economic benefit there and a rest area here where just nothing to pick up ." On the part of hunting regulatory however, the need for a quiet zone for the game in the valley all year greatly used by tourists is emphasized.

Winter sports

The great importance of tourism is also reflected in the winter sports infrastructure. The valley offers vacationers the opportunity to use 30 ski lifts, 6 chair lifts and 2 gondolas. The first mountain railway in the valley, which Kanzelwandbahn, was completed in 1955 in Riezlern. The 1989 renewed track ( 6ZUB ) promoted winter sports enthusiasts on 1957 m above sea level. A. The ski area " pulpit wall / Fellhornbahn " includes 13 part -the-art facilities:

• Three 6- seater chairlifts ( 6KSB )
• Two cable cars (PB )
• A 6 car ( 6ZUB )
• Four ski lifts
• A 4-seater chairlift ( 4SB )
• One double chairlift ( 2SB )
• An 8-person gondola ( 8EUB )

The entire ski area offers 25 groomed slopes. In addition, a terrain park and a boarder park offered.

Built in 1966 Walmendingerhornbahn in Mittelberg ends at 1951 m above sea level. A. They promoted winter sports in the two chairlifts ( a two-seater and a four seater ) existing ski area. The approximately ten -kilometer ski here is rather aimed at experienced skiers.

The ski area includes High Ifen two chair lifts and one surface lift from the middle station. It is in Schwarzwassertal near the churchyard and offers 20 km of slopes.

Furthermore, there are several small Liftbetriebe in the valley, which are connected with each other for the most part by the Walser Skigleitweg. Thus in Kleinwalsertal more than 56 groomed slopes are available, together with the slopes on the German side 76 km. There are also 42km of cross -country trails 1050-1260 m above sea level. A. available and more than 50 km of cleared winter hiking trails or cross-country.

Duty-free area

Since 1891, the Kleinwalsertal duty-free area and therefore German economic territory (the contract was restored after the first world war as well as in 1945 between the Republics of Austria and Germany ). This allowed the Walser population to act free of duty with the neighboring Bavarian regions. This facilitated the exchange of goods very, as this duty-free trade just walk over mountains and passes was no longer possible. After Austria joined the European Union in 1995, the special status of Kleinwalsertals lost its importance as now Austria and Germany belong to the same economic area.

Until the EU accession goods from Austria had the import tax be paid while German goods could be duty-free customs clearance based in Germany or. The taxes you had to pay up to the introduction of the euro to the Austrian tax office in D-Mark. Furthermore, at the post office was a special rate. For shipments to Austria, the domestic postage of Austrian Post, for shipments to Germany were the domestic postage of the German Post. All post offices carry two stamps, one with Austrian postal code and a second with German postal code. Actually, should the German postcodes (D - 87567 Riezlern, D- 87568 Hirschegg, D- 87569 Mittelberg ) be abolished on 31 December 2006, but were retained after protests ( Austrian, A - ​​6991, A- 6992 A- 6993, respectively ). The German phone code 08329, however, was shut down by July 1, 2003, is valid nurmehr 0043/0-5517.

Even today, may arrested German nationals by the police not brought over Germany to Vorarlberg to court but must be flown with the police helicopter dragonfly Ministry of the Interior (BMI). However, other nationalities may be transported in a conventional manner with the patrol car by land via Germany.

( Be indifferent used whether German or Austrian postal codes ) For a delivery to the Kleinwalsertal from Germany or the European Union without Austria always, is an intra- Community supply of goods, thus it is exempt from VAT, if a business provides to an entrepreneur. As a confirmation of this a valid VAT number is sufficient.

The valid rate for the full sales tax rate is as in young wood 19 % ( residual Austria 20%) and thus is based on the rate applicable in Germany.

Transport and Infrastructure

Security

Since December 1995, the Kleinwalsertal has its own ambulance station, which moved into a new station in the spring of 2011 from the district Hirschegg to Riezlern. The Walser rescue has a stand-by RTW to ensure the fastest possible care. The ambulance service is from the Bavarian Red Cross district association Oberallgaeu operated. The basis for this jurisdiction a completed with the Austrian Red Cross cooperation agreement.

In Kleinwalsertal there are four general practitioners who also act as emergency physicians. Can be alarmed not a doctor, because he is already in another application, for example, an emergency physician from the neighboring Oberstdorf is required. Every place has its own volunteer fire department, belonging to all the Landesfeuerwehrverband Vorarlberg. The field office Kleinwalsertal the Austrian Mountain Rescue Service is divided into two spatial locations Mittelberg- Hirschegg and Riezlern. If a helicopter is requested, for example, to salvage a severely injured, the rescue helicopter Christophorus 8 from Nenzing, gallic 1 is basically alerted the company usury from Zürs or the police helicopter dragonfly flight of the Austrian police from the air base of Hohenems.

Furthermore, there are in Hirschegg with the police inspection Kleinwalsertal a service of the Austrian Federal Police, which reports to the National Police Directorate Vorarlberg. The alerting all rescue organizations and emergency physicians via the Vorarlberg fire and rescue control center in Feldkirch.

After there was no gas station in the valley a short time, the community Mittelberg has bought a gas station, which is to provide citizens and tourists with fuel. In addition to this new station, the power supply Kleinwalsertal ( EVK ) has opened a new power - station for electric cars in Riezlern next to the star area.