Gayenhofen Palace & the 'Milka town' of Bludenz

Where Gayenhofen Palace stands today there once stood the castle of the Counts of Werdenberg, which burnt down in 1491. In 1746/47 Baron Franz Andreas von Sternbach had the austere three-storey Baroque building erected from its stones – one of the few palaces of this kind in Austria outside Vienna. Since 1963 it has housed the district administration, so the interior cannot be visited; the palace garden, however, restored in 2023, is open again and makes a quiet lookout over the rooftops and the Walgau, right next to the parish church of St Laurentius. Down in the town the chocolate factory has been working since 1888 – founded by Suchard, now Mondelez – producing Milka and wrapping Bludenz in a sweet smell on production days.

For a town walk with children take the historic circuit (just over 1 km, pushchair-friendly): Josef-Wolf-Platz, the Oberes Tor gate with the town museum, the arcades, the Nepomuk fountain, the palace and back to the town hall. The former Milka chocolate festival has not been held since 2023; instead, in summer 2026 the 'Milka-Schoko-Express', a three-hour town tour from Josef-Wolf-Platz, runs on Saturdays (as of 2026). From our house it is 22 km / 29 minutes, or bus 650 plus the Montafonerbahn – a pleasant stop on the way to the Rhine valley or Lake Constance.

Last updated: 13 Sep 2026