Montafon

The Montafon is a 39-km-long high mountain valley of the upper Ill in Vorarlberg in Austria.

The valley runs between the Rätikon and Silvretta groups in the southwest and the Verwall group in the northeast. The Montafon is located in the south of Vorarlberg, at the southwestern end of Austria. The alpine valley on the border with Switzerland stretches from Bludenz southwards to the Silvretta-Bielerhöhe. The high valley with the breathtaking mountain landscape of the Rätikon, Silvretta and Verwall is crowned at the end of the valley by the highest mountain in Vorarlberg, the 3,312-m-high Piz Buin. The eleven tourist resorts in the Montafon are characterized by a well-developed infrastructure, warm hospitality and authentic Montafon cuisine.

Understand

Montafon stone sheep in Bartholomäberg in the Montafon valley

The locals divide the valley into Inner- and Ausserfratte (Fratte is the narrow valley near Mauren, southeast of Schruns). The main industries in the valley (apart from tourism) are cattle breeding (Montafoner Braunvieh) and forestry. Mining was carried out around Bartholomäberg and Silbertal until the 18th century.

The name of the valley, Montafon, comes from "Munt tafun", "hole-filled mountain", which probably goes back to the silver mining in the Silbertal, a side valley in which the Litz, which flows through the main town of Montafon, has its source.

Downstream in Montafon there are the following communities:

• 1 Gaschurn — (1.000 m), with the district of Partenen (1.050 m)
• 2 St. Gallenkirch — (900 m), with the districts of Gargellen (1,423 m) and Gortipohl (950 m)
• 3 Schruns — (700 m), the main town
• 4 Tschagguns — (700 m)
• 5 Silbertal — (890 m)}
• 6 Bartholomäberg — (1.087 m)}
• 7 Vandans — (654 m)
• 8 St. Anton im Montafon — (650 m)
• 9 Lorüns — (583 m)

Speak

German is spoken, but with a very special dialect, roughly equal to Alemannic and Romansh. For example: "Wa wänd ir do dinna?" means "what do you want in there?"

Climate

In August the temperatures are pleasant and there is almost no precipitation. The highest average temperature in Montafon is 18°C in August and the lowest is -3°C in January.

Get in

The region is easy and convenient to reach by car. In just 2 hr 30 min from Munich, 2 hr 50 min from Stuttgart or in less than two hours from Zurich.

Air travellers are advised to choose Altenrhein, Memmingen, Friedrichshafen, Zurich or Munich as their arrival airport. Travelling by public transport is also possible without any problems thanks to the good connection network.

Get around

The Montafonerbahn, a regional train operated by MBS, runs from Bludenz to Schruns, stopping in all the towns in between. In Vandans, there is a bus to the Golmerbahn, which takes you to the Golm ski area. At the terminus in Schruns, several buses run in the direction of Latschau, Tschagguns, Silvretta-Bielerhöhe and St. Gallenkirch.

See

• Museums of Montafon: info@montafoner-museen.at, +43 5556 74723, http://www.montafoner-museen.at/
  • Heimatmuseum Schruns: This museum, which is in a house that is over 500 years old, shows how people of Montafon used to live. Kirchplatz 15, 6780 Schruns
  • Bergbaumuseum Silbertal: The Mining Museum Silbertal is located in an old school house and focuses on the history of mining in Montafon in the 14th, 15th and 16th century. Dorfstraße 8, 6782 Silbertal
  • Alpin-und Tourismusmuseum Gaschurn: The Alpine and Tourism Museum of Gaschurn is located in a historical house of Montafon and focuses on the history of tourism in the alps of Montafon. Dorfstraße 9,6793 Gaschurn
  • Museum Frühmesshaus Bartholomäberg: The early mass house dates back to the establishment of the Bartholomäberg early mass foundation in 1657. Dorf 11, 6781 Bartholomäberg

Do

Winter

In Montafon, you can expect 295 kilometres of slopes and over 74 lifts in a total of eight ski areas, from easy slopes to black racing pistes. Cozy mountain restaurants and huts with beautiful sun terraces provide refreshment in between with delicious food.

• Adventure Mountain Golm : Medium-sized ski area with the steepest run in Vorarlberg, but not suitable for beginners as all the blue runs are already very dark blue. Nice mountain restaurant at the mountain station, and there are also good places to stop for refreshments at the Matschwitz middle station and on some of the ski slopes. A large part of the ski area is artificially snowed when there is no snow. You can get up there with a gondola from Vandans or from the Latschau middle station, from where buses go to Schruns. There is a toboggan run from Latschau to Vandans.
• Silvretta Montafon, divided into:
  • Hochjoch: Large ski area with the longest descent in Montafon ("Hochjoch Totale") and a restaurant at the mountain station of both cable cars from Schruns (a gondola and a cable car). Coming from Silbertal, you take a chairlift up (this can of course only be used by skiers). You can also toboggan from the mountain station to the middle station of the Hochjoch cable car.
  • Silvretta Nova: Very large ski area with many slopes, the most versatile of the areas in Montafon, as it has something to offer for beginners as well as black piste fans. There are gondolas from St. Gallenkirch and Gaschurn. The ski slope from the mountain station of a chairlift into the valley to St. Gallenkirch becomes a night toboggan run at night.
  • Kristberg mountain: A very small mountain suitable for beginners with two drag lifts and a cable car down to Silbertal. Lots of places to stop for refreshments at the top. For advanced skiers there is a red piste and a ski route down to the valley, and two blue pistes for beginners. The toboggan run goes up to the Stelza middle station.
  • Gargellner Bergbahnen: Mountain suitable for beginners (but also for professionals) with three valley runs and a nice place to stop for a break at the mountain station. The mountain often has snow even when it is green elsewhere in Montafon, as the valley station is at an altitude of 1400 m. There is no toboggan run.
• Tobogganing: 5 toboggan runs and 2 illuminated night toboggan runs
• 290 km of groomed, partly illuminated winter hiking trails
• 150 km of signposted snowshoe routes
• 90 km cross-country ski trails without connecting trails (67.6 km classic/21.9 km skating)
• 7 ski and snowboard schools
• SBX World Cup Montafon (part of FIS Snowboard World Cup). It takes place annually in December in the Montafon valley. The races are held in the Silvretta Montafon ski area, starting a little below the Hochjoch summit and finishing near the cable car's mountain station.

Summer

On the Golm adventure mountain above the village of Vandans, in addition to an almost inexhaustible network of very well-marked hiking trails, you will also find Vorarlberg's largest forest rope park, the 565-m-long Flying Fox over the Latschau reservoir, the Alpine Coaster (a summer toboggan run on rails) and a research trail for children.

• 1,160 km of hiking trails: From easy to difficult, barrier-free and family-friendly: there are more than 267 hiking tours
• More than 40 rustic huts and mountain restaurants
• Montafoner Hüttenrunde: Long-distance hiking trail with 12 stages
• Biking: 260 km of cycling, mountain bike and e-mountain bike trails. More than 60 bike tours – from easy to challenging, which provide variety on every day on the bike. 17 mountain experiences that will make your bike holiday unforgettable.
• Climb: 19 via ferratas in the Rätikon, Verwall and Silvretta, 2 climbing gardens to get to know the heights, 11 mountain experiences, indoor climbing hall and bouldering area for rainy days.
• Montafon-Arlberg Marathon. It is a mountain marathon with 1,500 m in altitude in the middle of the European protected area Verwall.
• Montafoner Resonanzen, info: Montafon Tourismus GmbH, Montafonerstraße 21, 6780 Schruns, ☏ +43 50 6686, info@montafon.at. It is a music festival in the Montafon region. It is a series of events held annually on weekends in August and September. Each weekend is dedicated to another genre (classical, jazz, Austrian folk musik, organ, cross-over). The locations vary each year. Guests may combine hiking and eating out with the concerts, considering the musical performances are held at extraordinary locations like the Tübinger Hütte at 2,191 m (Gaschurn) or the Panoramagasthof Kristberg.
• Sunny Balcony Tour (e-bike) in Bartholomäberg

Eat

The Montafon Sura Kees has shaped the valley in the south of Vorarlberg for centuries. Since the 12th century, this particularly healthy cheese has been produced on the alpine pastures due to its low fat content. This speciality has regained its place in Montafon cuisine thanks to its versatility. The Montafon region can point to one of the oldest traditions of cheese production in the Alpine region: from the 12th to the 17th century, sour cheese production flourished in the Montafon region. But with the advent of rennet cheese, the Montafon Sura Kees faced major competition. Due to its storage and transportability, rennet cheese was better suited to national trade and thus replaced sour cheese. Only in the Montafon region has the knowledge of how to produce it been preserved. But the historic cheese had to survive another crisis: after numerous Montafon dairies disappeared in the 1960s, it was not until the 1990s that a comeback took place. The traditional Montafon Sura Kees became increasingly popular and began to soar. The speciality has regained its place in Montafon cuisine. Restaurants and inns in the region have also dedicated themselves to Montafon Sura Kees and prepare delicious dishes with it. The cheese is mainly produced during the summer months in the Alps. Around 800 cows on 13 alpine pastures provide the milk for cheese production. Because demand is now so high, some farms now produce Montafon Sura Kees all year round. The basic process has hardly changed since the 12th century.

Sleep

The entire valley has excellent hotels and extensive sports and leisure facilities. More information is available at: http://www.montafon.at.