Blog — Hirschen, fine hotel in the Bregenzerwald

With the Bregenzerwald & Großes Walsertal Guest Card, you receive a free pass for unlimited rides on all mountain railways and access to outdoor providers from a 3-night stay. It offers discounts at museums and various shops and free public transport, even on your arrival! The Guest Card is valid across the entire Bregenzerwald and Großes Walsertal from 1 May to 31 October 2024, and will be sent to you digitally on your smartphone in advance.

For those who wish to discover and get to know the land and its people, be sure to take your time! There are plenty of compelling reasons, and if we can persuade you to stay longer, ask about our LONG STAY offers starting at 5 or 7 nights, respectively.

There are still places where time moves differently. Where people persistently pursue their endeavours in a world that has become so fast-paced. The Bregenzerwald is one such place. It’s said that the people of Bregenzerwald are stubborn. We prefer to think they are quite sure of themselves. Whether it concerns the measure of things (enough is enough), the demand for aesthetics and functionality (visit the Werkraum Bregenzerwald), the maintaining of traditions, or generally in terms of quality. Just take a moment to admire a Bregenzerwald house and marvel at the perfection it still exudes, even after 200 years or more of existence. To this day, Vorarlberg, and especially the Bregenzerwald, is renowned beyond its borders for its pioneering architecture.

The region itself is unified yet could not be more diverse: there’s the Vorderer Bregenzerwald with its expansive meadows and hills, a building style adopted from nearby Allgäu, and a unique dialect. The Nagelfluhkette Nature Park here beckons with wild gorges and over 50 alpine peaks and tour opportunities around Lake Leckner, whether on foot or by (E-)bike. Also worth seeing: in Hittisau, the only women's museum in Austria; in Riefensberg, the Juppenwerkstatt gives an elegant home to traditional costumes, serving both as a museum and a workshop for creating the Juppe.

In what’s known as Mittelwald, the towns of Schwarzenberg, Andelsbuch, and Egg dominate. From the Niedere, the brave soar into the valley (paragliding), while in Egg, commerce thrives with numerous shops and manufactories. You have undoubtedly come to know and love Schwarzenberg, with its over 70 protected buildings in the town centre and the splendid church. The Angelika Kaufmann Museum is dedicated to a great name in art, the cheese shop is legendary, and the best place to watch the hustle and bustle of the town square is from a bench in front of the Hirschen.

Those looking to reach greater heights can explore the Hinterer Bregenzerwald. Rugged mountains, high peaks, exciting history (for those interested, keyword “Wälderrepublik”), and an exceptional shopping experience in many small shops. Stately guesthouses that date back to the era of the cheese counts and the bustling trade between the Bregenzerwald and Italy, Hungary, or the Czech Republic adorn the villages. Several hundred tonnes of cheese, for example, were delivered to Milan alone each year. But it wasn’t just goods that were exchanged; know-how was too. Baroque master builders from the Bregenzerwald created about 800 masterpieces across Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries; the Baroque Master Builders Museum in Au is dedicated to this significant era. Worth a trip!

This open-mindedness, the preservation and simultaneous adaptation to the present, shapes the local people, called “Wälder”, to this day. A special region with special people. We are grateful to count ourselves among them and to live here!