Hochalpsee

The Hochalpsee lies high in the Allgäuer Alps at 1,970 metres above sea level near the hamlet of Baad in Vorarlberg. It occupies a small hollow on the Hochalp-Alpe, a high pasture belonging to Mittelberg municipality. The lake’s clear waters cover only 0,85 hectares and are surrounded by steep slopes of the 2,533-metre Grosse Widderstein to the north-east and the 2,039-metre Seekopf to the south. Dark Kössener strata of soft marls and pale limestones weather into water-retentive soils that feed springs and keep the basin damp. These soils support rare wetland plants and create a fragile habitat at the edge of the alpine zone. The lake is recognised for two endangered species: the marsh cinquefoil and the great burnet. A narrow belt of bottle sedge marsh fringes the eastern shore, where the marsh cinquefoil grows in one of its highest known sites in the northern Alps. South-eastwards the marsh grades into a smaller sedge community that contains Scheuchzer’s cotton grass, while bright marsh marigolds line the southern shore. The lake itself is nutrient-poor, giving the water a clear blue tint and limiting plant growth to a few specialised species. A well-marked trail runs from the Hochalppass at 1,938 metres to the Widdersteinhütte at 2,009 metres, passing the lake on its way. The pass is reached from the Hochtannbergpass at 1,676 metres or from Baad in the Kleinwalsertal, making the lake a natural stop on routes to the Grosse Widderstein. The surrounding almen are dotted with simple wooden huts and stone walls built by local herdsmen. From the lake there are wide views across the pastureland to the limestone peaks, and the stillness is broken only by the calls of alpine choughs and the occasional cowbell.