The term Bregenz Forest Mountains refers to the range according to the Alpine Club classification of the Eastern Alps ; the term Bregenz Forest, by contrast, refers to a landscape or region which is part of the Bregenzer Ache basin area. As a result, the Bregenz Forest Mountains and the Bregenz Forest are not conterminous. The Bregenz Forest region also includes the southwestern parts of the Allgäu Alps. On the other hand, the Bregenz Forest Mountains reach, to an extent, into the landscapes of the eastern Rhine Valley, as well as to the Walgau Valley of the Ill River and the Großes Walsertal in the south. As the range is not geologically uniform, the name is rarely used outside of Alpine literature, is also not used in Vorarlberg state geography and land-use planning and belongs to one of the most disputed mountain groups in the AVE. According to an alternative orographically and hydrologically-oriented mountain range classification, the mountains belong to a Rhine Valley–Walgau–Bregenz Forest group.
Geography
The mountain range is part of a landscape arranged in several tiers rising from the Rhine Valley in the west up to the adjacent Lechquellen Mountains. Most of the area is shaped by a Mittelgebirge character with extended forests and Alpine pastures, except for small High Alpine region in the southeast.
Neighbouring ranges
The Bregenz Forest Mountains are bordered by the following other Alpine ranges:
Due to the remoteness of some areas, there are many nature reserves that can be found in the Bregenz Forest Mountains.
Part of the Walserkamm and the whole Glatthorngruppe lie in the area of the 19.200 hectares UNESCO biosphere reserveGroßes Walsertal.
A total of nine Natura 2000 sites are located in the Bregenzerwald mountains with the Bregenzerach-Gorge, the Fohramoos, the Unter Stellerhöhe area, the Unter der Winterstaude area, the Unterragenstein, the Üble Schlucht and the Übersaxen-Satteins, Walsbächle and Torfriedbach areas.
The largest nature reserve area according to Vorarlberg national law, Hohe-Kugel - Hoher Freschen - Mellental, lies in the Bregenzerwald mountains, as well as the smaller nature reserves Farnacher Moos, Fohramoos, Auer Ried, Amatlina Vita, Gasserplatz and Bludescher Magerwiesen and the protected landscapesHaslach - Breitenberg, Klien and Montiola.
Tourism
Mountain huts
In the Bregenzerwald mountains there are comparatively few alpine huts with overnight accommodation. This is due to the fact that the majority of the mountain tours can be undertaken as day trips from the valley valleys. Mountain huts run by the Austrian Alpine Club:
Freschenhaus : open and serviced from mid-June to mid-October, 20 beds & 30 mattress storage, open but no service during winter with space for 13 camps, valley location: Laterns, walking time from Laterns: 2.5 hours.
Hochälpelehütte : open and serviced from mid-May to end-October, 16 camps in a mattress storage, also open during winter in accordance with opening times of local cable cars, valley location: Schwarzenberg, walking time from Schwarzenberg: 1.75 hours
Lustenauer Hütte : open and services from May to October and December - April, 13 camps in a mattress storage, valley location: Schwarzenberg or Bödele, walking time from Schwarzenberg: 2 hours and 1 hour from Bödele
There are many more huts and restaurants in this region. Therefore, it is advisable to inquire about the exact opening hours and the accessibility of the huts at the Alpenverein or in the valley resorts.
Long-distance Routes
The nordalpine long distance route and the Limestone Alps Way runs through the central part of the Bregenzerwald mountain range with the following sections:
The greater part of this section is still in the Lechquellen Mountains. It is only at the Faschina Pass that the Bregenzerwald Forest is entered.
Section 18 runs from Damüls to Bregenz via Alpe Portla, Hoher Freschen, Mörzelspitze, Bödele, Dornbirn.
The Via Alpina, a cross-border hiking trail with five partial routes through the whole Alps, runs along the edge of the Bregenzerwald mountain range. The Red Trail of the Via Alpina runs as follows with two stages through the Bregenzerwald Mountains:
Geology and geography of the Bregenzerwald Mountains are not exactly conducive to the construction of climbing routes. As easy-to-get-on routes of the simplest level can still apply:
Binnelgrat on the Hohen Freschen
Valüragrat on the Hohen Freschen
Kugelsteig on the Hohe Kugel
Bocksberg-Crossing on the Bocksberg
Literature / Maps
Dieter Seibert: Alpenvereinsführer Bregenzerwald- und Lechquellengebirge alpin. Bergverlag Rother, München 2008,
