The Bregenzerwald countryside and Hittisau, that’s what we surround ourselves with. Rather, he surrounds us and gives us many things. Most of it can be experienced as a guest in the Krone: the gentle landscape that wants to be explored on foot and allows you to relax. Architecture that is interesting and sustainable. Cultural creations for the sensitive, sports for the persevering, serenity for everyone.
For several decades, the Bregenzerwald as a valley community has been trying to reach an international level with its agriculture, its handicrafts, its summer and winter tourism, its added value and its infrastructure. If the advertising strategists and economists are to be believed, the efforts are largely crowned with success. A return to culture and identity is now increasingly taking place in the Bregenzerwald. The green forests, the clear rivers and the majestic mountains look on calmly.
On the ” Bregenzerwald Walk ” through 13 villages, you will discover the creative power of the people in this region.
So there they are. Slim, hard and rusty. Of course it’s patina – you don’t treat yourself to anything else when you’re a steel pillar on the edge of the paths of the “Bregenzerwald bypass”.
And what are the pillars for? To get attention. They want to offer the guests a bit of additional entertainment along the way, preferably unobtrusively, but with depth – and they refer to the magnificent exhibits along the way, mostly Bregenzerwald houses with an impressive timber construction tradition. Or the new architectural jewels, which some visitors ask with astonishment who built them here.
Actually, the pillars should answer such questions. But then they wouldn’t be Bregenzerwald pillars who, like everyone else here, answer a question with a counter-question. This will become clear to you at the latest when you see the light.
To do this, you have to press the column. Not the whole thing, just a little button on her side. If you look into a small glass peephole at the top, a light suddenly goes on and a drawing and a short text in German and English appear. And this text asks a question about the object in front of the pillar.
That’s not a problem if you have the right “Umgang Bregenzerwald” folder with you. In it you can read the answer to the question in the pillar and other interesting details about the house or whatever you are looking at.
The pillar serves as a kind of boring bar in the tradition of framing in this region. What people have created here, from the landscape through the three-stage agriculture to the farms, houses, furniture and tools to the traditional costumes and songs, is put in the right light on the paths by the pillars and in the folders by the texts. By a finger pressure of the viewer.
The columns were designed by the Bregenzerwald architect Georg Bechter. A separate working group, in association with sponsoring members, handled the project “Umgang Bregenzerwald”. And so everyone can now set out to find out how people deal with nature, with wood or steel, with stone or cloth, with talent or cheese, with fish or meat. So far there have been twelve paths through thirteen villages.
The guests should also learn about the linguistic creative power of the forests. That is why there is also a separate book on how to deal with it, in which you can read about all sorts of interactions: with one’s own childhood, with music, with pets, with nature, with architecture, with handicrafts, with women, with pubs, inns and hotels, and with hopes , wishes and dreams.
The Natupark Nagelfluhkette eV is part of the network that supports the process of sustainable regional development in the Allgäu and Bregenzerwald. In this cooperation, cooperation is placed above the interests of individuals. In order to ensure the long-term and sustainable development of the nature park under these conditions, a transnational advisory board advises the nature park on its long-term strategies.
Four large valleys form an attractive contrast to the mountains of the nature park. They all run in a west-east direction and thus follow the course of the large mountain ranges on the edge of the Alps. Location, geology and climate together form the natural basis for this diverse landscape.
The Nagelfluhkette eV nature park is home to a large number of different habitats and specially adapted plant and animal species in a relatively small area. There is also talk of a high level of biodiversity. According to a large-scale international study carried out on behalf of the WWF and the Network of Alpine Protected Areas, the nature park, together with the Allgäu High Alps nature reserve and the Lechtal Alps, is one of the so-called biodiversity hot spots in the Alpine region. It is therefore particularly suitable as a priority area for protective measures.
The high level of biodiversity in the Nagelfluhkette eV Nature Park has several causes:
Since the beginning of 2017, the Nagelfluhkette eV Nature Park team has been strengthened by Carola Bauer, Florian Heinl and Max Lether. The rangers will spend most of their time in the field. In addition to visitor management and environmental education, they will also support the areas of tourism, alpine farming, forestry and nature conservation across borders. Tours with the rangers are also offered.
