Bad Rotenbrunnen mit Kapelle

Bad Rotenbrunnen is a small spa set in the Gadental valley, 1 010 metres above sea level. It lies two kilometres behind Buchboden, east of the Rotenbrunnenbach stream, in the Gemeinde Sonntag. The main building is now a Gasthof and seminar house, with a chapel dedicated to the Visitation of Mary beside it. The name comes from the reddish-brown deposit left by the iron-rich spring water on anything it touches. The site sits inside the Biosphärenpark Großes Walsertal and close to the Europaschutzgebiet Gadental. The spa has been a recognised health resort since at least the 15th century. The first written record dates from 1460, and the water was examined in 1643 by Damian, the apothecary of Weingarten Abbey. In 1651 Laurentius Gruebenmann confirmed its high content of sulphatic lime and solid residues, a combination unique in Vorarlberg. The water was once used for chronic skin complaints, hysteria and menstrual disorders. Today the building offers seasonal F.-X.-Mayr cures and medical massages. A well-marked footpath climbs about 100 metres from the roadside car park to the Gasthof in twenty-five minutes. Behind the house the Gadental stretches southwards as an Europaschutzgebiet, while to the north lies the Rotenbrunnenwald. Walkers can take high routes over the Muttawangjoch to the Göppinger Hütte or follow the Lutz valley to the Metzgertobelalpe. The Kessanaschlucht, a narrow gorge cut by the Lutz, lies a few minutes east of the car park.