Bregenz Forest Mountains

The Bregenzerwaldgebirge is a range of the Northern Limestone Alps in Vorarlberg, Austria. It lies east of the Rhine Valley and south-east of Lake Constance, forming the northern half of the state. The mountains rise in tiers from the valley floors up to the Lechquellengebirge in the south. Most of the range has the rounded shapes of a Mittelgebirge, covered in forests and alpine pastures, with only a small high-alpine area in the south-east. The range’s geology is unusually varied because it sits where the Eastern and Western Alps meet. Hard siliceous limestone forms dramatic cliffs in the Schuttannenberge and Freschengruppe, while softer marl underpins the forests and meadows of the Hoher Freschen. Jurassic limestone at Kanisfluh is the oldest rock in the range. Flysch zones of weathered sandstone and marl create gentle slopes thick with trees and grass, especially in the Hochälpele-Weißenfluh group and the Glatthorn group. Visitors find a landscape of branching ridges and deep valleys. From the Hoher Freschen, chains stretch north, east and west, separated by valleys cut by the Schwarzach and Dornbirner Ach. Two mountain lakes, Staufensee and Sünser See, lie among the rounded peaks. In the east, parallel ridges such as the Mittagsfluh and Winterstaudenkamm run west to east, divided by streams flowing into the Bregenzer Ach. The summits rise steadily from the north-west towards the higher south-east, offering long views across Vorarlberg’s alpine countryside.