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

The Bruder Klaus-Kapelle (Brother Klaus chapel) is located in Hirschegg. This idyllic chapel, a wooden building with shingle roofing and bell roof rider, greets from a hill in the hamlet of Wäldele in Hirschegg. The author of the plan and the authoritative operator of the chapel building was the local pastor Bachmann. In 1950, at the feast of St. Stephen, the small mountain church was inaugurated, in honor of the Swiss national saint "Nikolaus von der Flüe". The altarpiece represents the patron saint.

The parish church Mariä Opferung (also called Meine liebe Frau von Jerusalem ) is dating back to the year 1471, visible in the vestibule of the church. In 1493, a gothic-style church was inaugurated and a cemetery was built. The church was extended in the years1684 and 1720. The tower was raised in 1844 and the pitched roof replaced by a dome. In 1889 the dilapidated church including the tower was demolished and a new, built in the neo-Romanesque style. The ‘new’ church was completed in 1894 and the inauguration took place on June 12 of that year. Martin von Feuerstein, a well-known Munich professor, created the splendid paintings in casein technique in 1903/1904 with his master class. Twenty years later the Mariä Opferung became a new altar.

The history of Hl. Mutter Anna (St. Anna parish church) dates back to around 1570, when in Hirschegg a chapel is mentioned, which was then changed and rebuilt several times. The first time the place name was mentioned in the annual diary 1499, where it is recorded in a document: “... located on the hierßegg, dz. picture dar”. As "image" is a shrine or a small chapel to understand. In 1745 Hirschegg was raised to the chaplaincy. The maternal priest Mittelberg originally filed vehement opposition. Ultimately, the bishop of Constance decided that the pastor has to recognize the appointment of a curate. In 1767 the chapel received a new tower. In 1782 the Hirschegger asked for release from the parish of Mittelberg; ten years later the elevation to an independent parish took place. In 1804, the foundation stone was laid for rebuilding the church. In 1806, the present church was inaugurated by the Bishop of Constance.

The Hoher Ifen - also called Hochifen - is a 2.230 meters high summit of the Ifen plateau, which is part of the Allgäu Alps. It lies on the border between Austria and Germany and can only be accessed by road from Germany. Hoher Ifen is part of the European Watershed, where water is separated between the North Sea (Rhine River) and the Black Sea (Danube). This Dolomite-like rock formation with its steep walls is the natural landmark of the Kleinwalsertal. In winter the mountain plateau is an impressive backdrop for the Ifen ski area.

The Bärgunt-Hütte is an more than hundred years old alpine mountain cabin in the Bärgunt valley. It lies in a wonderful alpine landscape, directly at the foot of the mountain Grosser Widderstein in the Austrian Alps. The Bärgunt-Hütte - the oldest and largest alp in the Kleinwalsertal - is affiliated with an alpine cattle range with appx. 200 cows. Nowadays also a popular destination for hikers - in summer (PiP1) as well as in winter - who can enjoy the surrounding mountain scene from Grosser Widderstein to Walmendingerhorn (PiP2) on the sunny terrace of the mountain hut. The hut can be reached from the car park (1.220 m.) at the end of the dead-end-road through the Kleinwalsertal in Baad. The 2,5 km walking path follows the Bärgunt valley (PiP3) to the Bärgunt-Hütte at an altitude of 1.408 m.

The Hoher Ifen - also called Hochifen - is a 2.230 meters high summit of the Ifen plateau, which is part of the Allgäu Alps. It lies on the border between Austria and Germany and can only be accessed by road from Germany. Hoher Ifen is part of the European Watershed, where water is separated between the North Sea (Rhine River) and the Black Sea (Danube). This Dolomite-like rock formation with its steep walls is the natural landmark of the Kleinwalsertal. In winter the mountain plateau is an impressive backdrop for the Ifen ski area.

Soon after their immigration to Kleinwalsertal the Walser - coming from the Swiss canton Wallis - started building a first place of worship in Mittelberg. A stone with the year 1302 on the outside wall of the choir should be considered as proof of the existence of a small sacral building. In 1390, a new chapel with altar and cemetery was inaugurated. In 1391 Mittelberg was raised to an independent parish. Until then, the place belonged to the parish of Fischen in Allgäu (Germany). Over the years the church became too small and in 1460 the construction of the new church in Mittelberg was started. It was built in gothic style and consecrated in 1463 with three altars. Sankt Jodok (Saint Judoc) - who lived in the 7th century - was chosen as the patron saint of the church. Its current appearance became the church in 1693 by a seven meter extension and the construction of the sacristy and a gallery. An avalanche had invaded the nave that year, so the main entrance was walled in and two side doors were opened. The slender tower of the church - with a height of 66 meters - is a real architectural landmark of the Kleinwalsertal . The interior offers some amazing wall frescoes, dating back to the year of 1470. The restored late-Gothic murals give the parish church a special atmosphere; they once represented the so called "biblia pauperum": the Bible for believers ignorant of reading.

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.

Snow fence on the slopes of Schwarzköpfle, a 2.300 meters high mountain peak in the Silvretta Montafon ski area.

View from terrace of the summit restaurant at the Walmendingerhorn (1950 m - PiP1) towards the Muttelberg ski area (PiP 2) and the Austrian and Swiss Alps. On the left hand side the glass panorama lift. (This breathtaking panorama is a stitch of four pictures.)

The Bielerhöhe Pass (also known as Silvretta Pass) has an elevation of 2.032 m. The pass lies just north of the Silvretta Lake (an artificial lake). The famous Silvretta High Alpine Road (a toll road) connects the valleys of Montafon in Vorarlberg with the Paznaun Valley in Tyrol (PiP 1). The part from Partenen to the pass has 34 bends (PiP 2). During winter (PiP 3) the pass is closed for normal traffic, but still can be reached from Partenen by a cableway and a ‘tunnelbus’. The Bielerhöhe is on the watershed between Rhine and Danube.

The Hoher Ifen - also called Hochifen - is a 2.230 meters high summit of the Ifen plateau, which is part of the Allgäu Alps and located just west of the Kleinwalsertal. It lies on the border between Austria and Germany and can only be accessed by road from Germany (Bavaria). Hoher Ifen is part of the European Watershed, where water is separated between the North Sea (Rhine River) and the Black Sea (Danube). Although not that high Hoher Ifen is a prominent landmark of this part of Austria and can be seen from everywhere in Kleinwalsertal. In winter the mountain plateau is an impressive backdrop for the Ifen ski area. Main picture was taken from the Schäfalp ski slope and the PiP’s from a footpath from Söllereck to Riezlern in Kleinwalsertal.