Arlberg () is a

massif In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...

between

Vorarlberg Vorarlberg ( , ; gsw, label=Vorarlbergisch, Vorarlbearg, , or ) is the westernmost States of Austria, state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is ...

and

Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. The highest peak is the Valluga at . The name ''Arlberg'' derives from the tradition of the "Arlenburg", who are said to have once established themselves on the Tyrolean side of the Arlberg passes (1,793 m above sea level). Another story derives the name from the "Arlenbushes" that are very numerous there.

Ski resorts A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North ...

at the Arlberg include

Lech Lech may refer to: People * Lech (name), a name of Polish origin * Lech, the legendary founder of Poland * Lech (Bohemian prince) Products and organizations * Lech (beer), Polish beer produced by Kompania Piwowarska, in Poznań * Lech Poznań, ...

Zürs Zürs (1717 meters above sea level) is one of the most renowned winter sports resorts in the Alps. Located in the westernmost Austrian state of Vorarlberg, almost directly on the border to North Tyrol, near the Flexenpass, Zürs is part of the A ...

, Stuben, St. Christoph,

St. Anton Sankt Anton am Arlberg, commonly referred to as St Anton, is a village and ski resort in the Austrian state of Tyrol. It lies in the Tyrolean Alps, with aerial tramways and chairlifts up to , yielding a vertical drop of . It is also a popular s ...

, Oberlech, Stubenbach, Zug, Warth The name of the state of

is derived from the mountain Arlberg, which is located in front of the Arlberg, from the point of view of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

as well as the

Swiss Confederation ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

and the castle of the

Habsburgs The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

Geography

The Arlberg connects the Klostertal Valley in the west with the Stanzer Valley in the east. Together with the Flexenpass, it borders three mountain groups: the Verwall in the south, the

Lechquellen mountains The Lechquellen Mountains (german: Lechquellengebirge) or Lechquellen range is a small mountain group within the Northern Limestone Alps of the Eastern Alps. It lies entirely within the Austrian state of Vorarlberg and includes the upper reac ...

in the northwest, and the

Lechtal Alps The Lechtal Alps (german: Lechtaler Alpen) are a mountain-range in western Austria, and part of the greater Northern Limestone Alps range. Named for the river Lech which drains them north-ward into Germany, the Lechtal Alps occupy the Austrian stat ...

in the northeast. The

Valluga Valluga is a high mountain in the Lechtal Alps. The border between the Austrian states Tyrol and Vorarlberg runs over the summit. It is about 3 km north of the village St. Christoph am Arlberg and the Arlberg Pass. Vallugabahn The summ ...

, which stands as the highest mountain of the Arlberg, and the Trittkopf, southwest of the Lechtal Alps, dominate the

pass Pass, PASS, The Pass or Passed may refer to: Places *Pass, County Meath, a townland in Ireland * Pass, Poland, a village in Poland *Pass, an alternate term for a number of straits: see List of straits *Mountain pass, a lower place in a mountai ...

. Four communities meet: on the Vorarlberg side,

and Klösterle–Stuben; on the

side,

Kaisers :''See also Kaiser.'' Kaisers is a municipality in the district of Reutte in the Austrian state of Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Aus ...

and

. The

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

between the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

and the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

rivers runs south from the Albonagrat to the Passhöhe, over the Valluga and Trittkopf, to the Flexenpass, and it traces from the Flexenspitz the southern edge of the Lechquellen mountains westward to the Klostertal.

Pass roads and the Arlberg tunnel

The old pass route was known since the 14th century in the form of a narrow mule track when people began to trade salt in the region. However, because the Arlberg was very poorly developed, for centuries people avoided the route and took detours over the

Fern Pass Fern Pass (elevation 1212 m) is a mountain pass in the Tyrolean Alps in Austria. It is located between the Lechtal Alps on the west and the Mieming Mountains on the east. The highest peak in Germany, the Zugspitze is only 13.5 km away to th ...

Immenstadt Immenstadt im Allgäu () is a town in Oberallgäu, the southernmost district of Bavaria, Germany, in the German Alps. First mentioned in a 1275 administrative tract, it was granted town privileges in 1360, which makes it one of the oldest towns in ...

for trading. The development of the textile industry and of the postal service, however, led to the roads being surfaced in 1824. With the rise of motor traffic in the 20th century, however, this became inadequate. It was decided that a

Arlberg Road Tunnel The Arlberg Road Tunnel (german: Arlberg Straßentunnel), with a length of , is Austria's longest road tunnel. When it was inaugurated, it was the longest road tunnel in the world. It carries the S16 Arlberg Schnellstraße (German for "Arlberg Hi ...

would be built between Langen and St. Anton. On July 5, 1974, the work began and the passage was opened to traffic on December 1, 1978. The tunnel has a toll; however, the old road over the pass is toll-free. A peculiarity of the tunnel is that it actually consists of two tunnels. On the Tyrolian side it is built over the Rosanna Gorge before the actual massif rises up in the direction of Vorarlberg over the tunnel.

Arlberg Railway

The Arlberg railway connects Innsbruck with

Bludenz Bludenz (; Alemannic: ''Bludaz'') is a town in the westernmost Austrian state of Vorarlberg. It is the administrative seat of the Bludenz District, which encompasses about half of the Vorarlberg's territory. Geography The town is located on the Il ...

. Between St. Anton and Langen it runs through the long Arlbergtunnel.

Tourism

Tourism is the main source of income for Arlberg villages and their inhabitants and plays a vital role in the region. Today, "Arlberg" is a

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

for the winter sports areas around the Arlberg Pass, in particular the ski areas of Lech, Zürs, Stuben, Klösterle and St. Christoph, St. Anton am Arlberg. The area is known for its long winter sports tradition. As early as 1901, the Arlberg ski club was founded and two years later a first club competition was held. In 1904 the first general Arlberg race took place, 1928 the first of the famous Arlberg Kandahar races. In 1921, under the leadership of

Hannes Schneider Johann "Hannes" Schneider (24 June 1890 – 26 April 1955) was an Austrian ski instructor of the first half of the 20th century, famous for pioneering the Arlberg technique of instruction. Many consider him the Father of Modern Day Skiing. A ...

, the

ski school A ski school is an establishment that teaches skiing, typically in a ski resort. The modern version of the ski school was invented by the Austrian ski pioneer Hannes Schneider in the early 1920s when he formalized instruction methods and establis ...

Arlberg was the first ski school in the region. In 1937, the first lifts were built in St. Anton and in Zürs. It was the first ski-lift built by Konrad Doppelmayr and Sepp Bildstein. With the 2001 FIS Ski World Cup in St. Anton,

alpine ski racing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for ...

came back to the Arlberg and thus to its roots. In 2021, St. Anton am Arlberg will be holding a combination ski race with a slalom and a super-G on January 9 and 10 as part of the FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup 2020–21. Today, the contiguous ski resorts on three mountains around Lech and Zürs, the Arena on Gampen, Kapall, Galzig and Valluga above St. Anton and St. Christoph, form a ski resort with 87 lifts, 305 km of groomed slopes and 200 km of deep snow slopes. Thanks to the many winter sports enthusiasts, tourism at the Arlberg is of great importance. Between 1 November 2001 and 31 October 2002, more than one million overnight stays were counted for the first time. Sonnenkopf Ski Arlberg (203037195)

Ski Arlberg

Ski Arlberg The Ski Arlberg ski area is situated in the Arlberg massif in the states of Vorarlberg and Tyrol (Austria). Since the winter of 2013–14, the villages of Lech, Oberlech, Zürs and Zug have been linked to the Warth-Schröcken ski area which mak ...

is the biggest connected ski resort in Austria, consisting of the villages of Lech, Oberlech, Zürs and Zug, which were linked to Warth and Schröcken in 2013–14. The ski area comprises 15

aerial tramway An aerial tramway, sky tram, cable car, ropeway, aerial tram, telepherique, or seilbahn is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary ropes for support while a third moving rope provides propulsion. With this form of lift, the grip ...

s, 45

chairlift An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel wire rope loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers, carrying a series of chairs. They ...

s and 28 drag lifts.
The White Ring, the world's longest ski circuit (22 km), is located within the Ski Arlberg area. Since 2005–06, annual White Ring races have been held.

References

{{Authority control Mountain passes of Tyrol (state) Mountain ranges of Tyrol (state) Mountain passes of the Alps Mountain passes of Vorarlberg Mountain ranges of Vorarlberg Greywacke zone Verwall Alps Ski areas in Austria Sports venues in Austria Skiing in Austria