Jaap van 't Veen's photos with the keyword: Breitach

The Breitachklamm (Breitach Gorge) was formed only during the last 10,000 years after the “Würm ice age”. Glaciers had eroded soft rocks, and hard rocks remained. When the glaciers had melted, the river Breitach had to grind its way through the hard rocks, over a distance of 2.5 km. During these years the Breitach has cut a deep canyon into the rocks of the Bavarian Alps, almost on the border between Austria and Germany, just south of Oberstdorf. The most interesting part of the gorge is a couple of hundred meters long. On some places the steep walls are more than 100 meters high, where only very few spots ever get the sunlight. There is a secured path along the river, which on the narrowest places has been cut into the steep wall of the canyon. All around is water running down the rocks, gurgles in tiny rivers across the hiking trail into the Breitach. On other place waterfalls are coming down from the overhanging walls. The further you enter the gorge, the scene turns into barren rocks with the noise of the powerful water rushing and tumbling metres below the walkway. Winter 2024 Oberstdorf: Unlike on a previous winter-visit when the walls of the gorge were covered with glittering icicles, ice curtains and frozen waterfalls we were now surprised by waterfalls and a spray of fine droplets and the roaring Breitach beneath us. Water was really everywhere.

In the past Kleinwalsertal had twelve covered bridges, but nowadays there are just three left of these monuments of carpentry. The Höfler bridge - near Mittelberg - is one of them and with a length of 33 meters the longest. The main reason for the roof of the bridges was certainly to protect the stringers from the weather. Originally the Höfler bridge is dating back to 1891, but fell victim to a devastating avalanche in 1907. The bridge was erected for a second time in spring of that year. In the valley of the river Breitach (PiP3) there were in the 1950’s eleven covered bridges. Wooden bridges with their shingle roofs were often torn away by avalanche or flood disasters. So also the Höflerbrücke, which was washed away by the Breitach in August 2005. Unlike others - replaced by more modern structures - it was replaced by a new wooden covered bridge.

The river Breitach has cut a deep canyon into the rocks of the Bavarian Alps, almost on the border between Austria and Germany, just south of Oberstdorf. The most interesting part of the gorge is a couple of hundred meters long. On some places the steep walls are more than 100 meters high, where only very few spots ever get the sunlight. There is a secured path along the river, which on the narrowest places has been cut into the steep wall of the canyon. All around is water running down the rocks, gurgles in tiny rivers across the hiking trail into the Breitach. On other place waterfalls are coming down from the cliff walls. At the start of the trail there is still lush green vegetation, but the further you come the scene turns into barren rocks with the noise of the powerful water rushing and tumbling metres below the walkway. (Visited also in winter, which is of course quite different: www.ipernity.com/doc/294067/36423358/in/album/742620)

The river Breitach has cut a deep canyon into the rocks of the Bavarian Alps, almost on the border between Austria and Germany, just south of Oberstdorf. The most interesting part of the gorge is a couple of hundred meters long. On some places the steep walls are more than 100 meters high, where only very few spots ever get the sunlight. There is a path along the river, which on the narrowest places has been cut into the steep wall of the canyon. During a hike in the winter we were really surprised by the beauty of this ‘winter wonderland’ with snow, glittering icicles, ice curtains and frozen waterfalls.