Damüls – snowiest village & summer hiking

Damüls sits at 1,429 m at the upper end of the Bregenzerwald, a Walser foundation first mentioned in 1313; today just over 330 people live here. The village became famous in 2006 through a title: an analysis of official weather stations showed an average of 9.30 m of fresh snow per winter – more than at any other inhabited place with a comparably long record, which is why Damüls calls itself the 'snowiest village in the world' (confirmed by a further study in 2016). In summer there is no sign of it: flower meadows beckon, as do the leaning onion-domed tower of the parish church of St Nikolaus (1484) with its frescoes of the Last Judgement painted around 1490 and only uncovered again in 1950, and the Uga-Express, a chairlift to around 1,800 m.

At the top begins the easy loop around the Ugaalpe (2.7 km, 40 minutes, water playground for children); fit walkers continue up the Damülser Mittagspitze (2,095 m) with views of the Kanisfluh. In 2026 the lift runs daily from 13 June to 18 October, 9 am to 4.30 pm (lunch break on weekdays). The drive itself is an outing: from Bludenz through the Großes Walsertal over the Faschinajoch (1,486 m), open all year, about 54 km / 75 minutes from our house. In summer it is worth continuing over the Furkajoch (1,759 m, gradients up to 14 %, usually open from Whitsun into autumn) to Laterns and Rankweil – one of Vorarlberg's finest pass circuits. By public transport: Landbus 570 or 575 from Thüringen, or 851 from Au.

Last updated: 13 Sep 2026