The Pfänder is a mountain in western Austria close to

Lake Constance Lake Constance (, ) refers to three bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein (). These ...

(). The city of

Bregenz Bregenz (; ) is the capital of Vorarlberg, the westernmost states of Austria, state of Austria. The city lies on the east and southeast shores of Lake Constance, the third-largest freshwater lake in Central Europe, between Switzerland in the wes ...

lies at the foot of the mountain on the shores of the lake. With its views over the lake and the surrounding mountain peaks, the Pfänder is one of the most famous lookout points of the region. With good visibility, the view from the summit reaches from the Allgäu and Lech valley Alps in the east, over to the

Bregenz Forest The Bregenzerwald (, ) is one of the main regions in the States of Austria, state of Vorarlberg (Austria). It overlaps, but is not coterminous with, the Bregenz Forest Mountains, which belong to a mountain range, range of the Northern Limestone A ...

, the steep mountain peaks of Arlberg region,

Silvretta The Silvretta Alps are a mountain range of the Central Eastern Alps shared by Tirol, Vorarlberg (both in Austria) and Graubünden (Switzerland). The Austrian states of Tirol and Vorarlberg are connected by a pass road ( Silvretta Hochalpenst ...

, and the

Rätikon The Rätikon is a mountain range of the Central Eastern Alps, located at the border between Vorarlberg, Liechtenstein and Canton of Grisons, Graubünden. It is the geological border between the Eastern Alps, Eastern and Western Alps and stretch ...

to the

Swiss Alps The Alps, Alpine region of Switzerland, conventionally referred to as the Swiss Alps, represents a major natural feature of the country and is, along with the Swiss Plateau and the Swiss portion of the Jura Mountains, one of its three main Physica ...

and the foothills of the

Black Forest The Black Forest ( ) is a large forested mountain range in the States of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is th ...

in the west. Below is Lake Constance, surrounded by the Rhine valley and the Swabian hills. A radio tower designated ''BREGENZ 1'' is located near the peak of the Pfänder, standing 95 meters tall. It is operated by the (Austrian Broadcasting Services) and transmits television, DAB and analogue radio services. The mountain is a popular tourist destination, with hiking paths, an alpine wildlife park and restaurants.

Transport

The ''Pfänder Tunnel'' takes the A14 motorway underneath the Pfänder, bypassing Bregenz. This is a now a dual tunnel, having opened in July 2013. The summit of the Pfänder can be reached by a cable car called the '' Pfänderbahn'', with the valley station in the town of Bregenz, ca. from and from railway stations. The cable car covers a height difference of over in around 6 minutes.

References

External links

Official site of the Pfänder Cable Car
(in German and English) {{DEFAULTSORT:Pfander Mountains of the Alps Mountains of Vorarlberg