Up in the mountains of the Austrian Alps, there is a small village called Lech am Arlberg. Most people know the area as one of the world’s premier ski destination but we visited the town during the summer, and we loved every minute of it. Mostly the fun we had was hiking in the mountains and taking pictures of the gorgeous view from up there.
Lech am Arlberg is a little bit too long, so we are going to call it Lech since everyone just called this village by its short name. We visited this small mountainous village in Vorarlberg back in the summer of 2016, and you can read everything we did there below.
A Little Bit of Lech’s History
Lech was founded all the way back in the fourteenth century when some people migrated from the canton of Wallis in Switzerland. But the village was called Tannberg and, later, it was called Tannberg am Lech due to the river that crosses the town.
One of the oldest buildings in the village in the Saint Nicholas Church, built in 1390. It used to be the parish church of the Tannberg administrative district, but this was dissolved in 1806. It was extensively renovated in 1987, and it features a beautiful rococo interior that dates from 1791. Today, it is one of the most beautiful buildings in the village, and you should visit it when you are in town.
In the last few decades, Lech has seen a lot of development because of winter tourism. This is how it became one of the world’s best destinations for ski. But since we were there in the summertime, there is not much we can say about winter time there.
Summertime in one of Europe’s most beautiful village
When the snow melts, Lech becomes a sought-after destination for travelers looking from summer up in the mountains. Between June and October, the village turns into a hiking center for those who love to explore the beauty that is the Austrian Alps.
It’s in Lech that you can find the beginning of the Lechweg trail that is one of Europe’s last wild river landscapes. There you can also see the beautiful Green Ring that is a circular hiking trail that goes around the mountains that surround Lech.
When we visited Lech, we stayed at the fantastic Hotel der Berghof and, from our room, we could see the cable car that would take us to Panoramarestaurant Rüfikopf where we manage to look at the beautiful mountains that surround the village. The trip up the cable car was as gorgeous as you can imagine and the view from up there was terrific. If you are in Lech in the summer, the Panoramarestaurant Rüfikopf is one of the places you need to visit.
If you get tired of the view there, you can get the cable car to the other side of the mountains in Lech. At Bergbahn Lech-Oberlech you can take another cable car that leads to the hills where most people ski in the winter time. We didn’t manage to do it, but we’re pretty sure it should be as great as on the other side.
During the time we went to Lech, we took a road trip across Vorarlberg and managed to see the beautiful floating stage of the Bregenz Festival, the designed bus stops at Krumbach, and we even paraglide there!
A Summer Day in Lech am Arlberg
47°12′00″N 10°09′00″E
Vorarlberg, Austria
If you like what you read here, you should join us on our facebook group, follow us on Facebook and Twitter and, maybe, even our Flipboard Magazine. Or even, subscribe to our newsletter!
<!– Go to www.addthis.com/dashboard to customize your tools –><br /><br /><!– –><div class="addthis_recommended_horizontal"></div>
