The "Grosses Walsertal" is a sparsely populated mountain valley characterised by alpine farming and lies northeast of Bludenz in Vorarlberg, Austria. Approx. 3,500 people live on a surface area of barely 200 square kilometres in the six communities of Thüringerberg, Blons, St. Gerold, Raggal, Sonntag and Fontanella.

History and culture
After being settled by Rhaeto-Romance people in the 10th century, around 1300 the Monforter dukes brought Walliser mercenaries from Switzerland to guard the passes and borders and offered them lands in return. The mercenaries were followed by many Walser families and settled the valley. The typical scattered settlement structure of the Walser still bears witness to this history today.

Keeping tradition alive, maintaining the language and wearing local costume are still important to local people.

Space for nature
The steep-side V-shaped valley has very little valley floor and from a geological point of view is divided in two: the northern part is characterised by the soft, green mountains of the Flysch, the southern part by the wildly romantic, craggy peaks and scree of the high limestone Alps. The altitude ranges from 580 to 2,704 m above sea level.

Flora and fauna feel right at home in these unspoilt, natural surroundings: in the Biosphere Park Grosses Walsertal there are two large nature conservation areas, plenty of rough pasture and many wetland biotopes – in fact, the valley is one big biotope. In the Gaden valley for example, the largest nature conservation area in Vorarlberg, on a walk of only 4 kilometres in length you come across eight completely different woodland types.