Dornbirner Ach

The Dornbirner Ach is a stream in Vorarlberg that flows for nearly thirty kilometres from alpine meadows near Ebnit down to Lake Constance. It passes through two deep gorges, the Alploch Gorge and the Rappenloch Gorge, which are separated by a small reservoir called Staufensee. After leaving the gorges the river crosses the town of Dornbirn and then spreads across wide meadows known as the Lauterach Ried. Finally it reaches Upper Lake Constance near Hard, having been redirected to flow close to the straightened Alpine Rhine.

The gorges are among the largest and most impressive in Central Europe. The Alploch Gorge is narrow and lined with steep rock walls while the Rappenloch Gorge drops more than one hundred metres in places. Between them the Staufensee reservoir collects water from several tributaries including the Kugelbach, Bruderbach and Spätenbach. The river’s course once ended near Fussach but engineering works now guide it parallel to the Rhine into the lake.

Visitors can walk along well-marked paths beside the gorges to watch the water rush through narrow channels. Wooden bridges and viewing platforms give views of the churning streams below. In the Lauterach Ried broad gravel paths follow the river across open meadows where wildflowers grow in summer. The final stretch to the lake offers views of the surrounding countryside and the distant Alps.