Bregenzerwald: Bezau, Schwarzenberg & the cheese road

The Bregenzerwald – 22 villages, around 31,000 people and almost as many cows – is the region where Vorarlberg perfected its timber architecture: next to the old Wälderhäuser with shingle façades stand the clean-lined new buildings of the 'New Vorarlberg School'. The three-stage farming system of valley, mid-level pasture and high alp has been UNESCO cultural heritage since 2011, and the cheese it produces gave rise in 1998 to the KäseStrasse Bregenzerwald, a network of some 180 farmers, dairies and innkeepers. Our loop (106 km from the holiday house) runs from Bludenz through the Großes Walsertal over the Faschinajoch (1,486 m) and Damüls to Bezau, the main village with cable car and heritage railway, then on to Schwarzenberg, where the painter Angelika Kauffmann (1741–1807) grew up and at 16 painted the apostle medallions in the church; the village square with the Hirschen and Adler inns is considered the finest in the province.

In Andelsbuch, Peter Zumthor's Werkraum Haus (2013, Tue–Fri 10 am–6 pm, Sat 10 am–4 pm, €9, as of 2026) displays the region's crafts beneath a wide-spanning timber roof; in Lingenau up to 5,000 tonnes of mountain cheese mature in the cellar built in 2002 – viewed through a glass wall, tastings from €10.50 with 48 hours' notice. Krumbach rounds it off with its seven BUS:STOP shelters by international architects (2014). Return via Dornbirn or back over Faschina; by car it is 87 km / 1 h 25 to Bezau, by train and Landbus 850 from Dornbirn it takes longer. A day with many indoor stops – worthwhile even in the rain.

Last updated: 13 Sep 2026 · Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL)