Grosses Walsertal

Also known as Großes Walsertal

The Grosses Walsertal is a side valley of the Rhine-Ill system in Vorarlberg, running northeast from Bludenz into the Lechquellengebirge mountains. It is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, designated in 2000 for its combination of traditional Walser cultural landscape and ecological integrity.

The Grosses Walsertal in Vorarlberg is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve (designated 2000) for its intact Walser cultural landscape: the dark-timbered farmhouses with extended roofs, the high valley settlements, and the dialect that trace back to farmers who migrated here from the Swiss Valais in the 13th century. The Walser settled valleys that other communities had avoided as too high and remote, and their architecture and language remained distinct from the surrounding Austrian communities for centuries. Full day for a drive and walk; bus from Bludenz. The Talmuseum in Sonntag has the settlement history.