Discover the stories behind the scenes

Are you interested in a different perspective on Vorarlberg? Would you like to know more about the commitment, new offers and creative ideas of our hosts?

Vorarlberg offers spaces for the pleasurable art of living: hosts, cultural workers, chefs, mountain guides, architects and bakers – the people of Vorarlberg are bursting with commitment, are inspired and creative. Read a few stories here from and about people who create and design places and spaces for the good life!

10 contributions to a good life

01 Badhus Lingenau, Bregenzerwald

An enrichment for the village square. The extensive concept of café, zero-waste store and events promotes village life in Lingenau and brings locals and guests together. Customers can shop in a cosy atmosphere and consume high-quality processed food on site. Regionality and sustainability are at the heart of their daily work and the reason why the four women Manuela Vögel, Martina Baumgartner, Paula Ranak and Sarah Ranak founded Badhus.
- badhus.at (in german language)
  Hof 17
  6951 Lingenau
02 Hör-Radweg: Über die Grenze (Audio cycling route)

The “Crossing the Border” audio cycling route aims to make the flight experiences of the years 1938-45 in the four-country border region between Lake Constance and the Silvretta tangible in an innovative way. Along Vorarlberg Cycle Route No. 1 and at selected locations in Switzerland and Liechtenstein, symbolic boundary stones mark 65 audio stations relating to the fates of these refugees and invite you to engage with the history of each location via QR code.
- Jüdisches Museum
  ueber-die-grenze.at
  Schweizer Straße 5
  6845 Hohenems
03 The renovation of St. Gerold Priory

The priory was renovated with a particular focus on sustainability and regionality. Only craftsmen from Vorarlberg were involved. Most of the wood came from the Propstei’s own forest, while lime, black steel and clay blend harmoniously into the centuries-old building fabric. On the upper floors, the largely historic guest rooms shine in their original, simple beauty. The house and most of the grounds are barrier-free and accessible. The Priory is a place of encounter, where you can breathe, learn and live. The 9 horses, which are kept in a species-appropriate herd, support our guests therapeutically or show them the way during leadership training. Music and cultural events for all ages and a good gastronomic offering complete the facilities on site.
- propstei-stgerold.at (in german language)
  Pater-Nathanael-Weg 29
  6722 St. Gerold
04 Stadthotel kleiner Löwe, Bregenz

The city hotel kleiner Löwe in Bregenz combines the architectural design of the renowned firm Herzog & de Meuron with regional craftsmanship – and international hotel guests with locals in the café.
The kleiner Löwe is a special place, with a view of beauty: the mountain and the lake, the hustle and bustle of the city. A small city hotel in Vorarlberg with eight rooms, right in the center and the lake on the doorstep.
- kleinerloewe.at (in german language)
  Kornmarktplatz 5
  6900 Bregenz
05 Friends and Fools - Familie Walch, Rote Wand in Lech Zürs

A community for food, fun & ideas. Culinary, sustainable, self-supporting and back to the agricultural roots. Back to the roots and into the future. It’s about how tourism, gastronomy and the hotel industry can be made even more exciting and sustainable for guests, employees and innkeepers, while also protecting the environment. It is a project for the whole family and shows how both generations can work together to create something and get involved, and how the younger generation can be slowly introduced and integrated into the business.
- rotewand.com
  Zug 5
  6764 Lech am Arlberg
06 Experience nature consciously in the Kleinwalsertal - Guardians of Nature

The sustainability initiative places the value of nature at the centre of public interest and contributes to the sensitive use of landscape areas. It focuses on two main areas: guiding recreationists and leisure sports enthusiasts and raising awareness and imparting knowledge.
- kleinwalsertal.com
  Walserstrasse 264
  6992 Hirschegg
07 Nature-friendly mountain sports in the Montafon

As part of the “Nature-friendly mountain sports in the Montafon” initiative, the aim is to defuse existing tensions between nature and mountain sports and to protect natural areas while preserving free access to nature as effectively as possible.
- montafon.at
  Montafonerstr. 21
  6780 Schruns
08 Energy efficiency at Farm Holidays Vorarlberg

Holidays on the Farm Vorarlberg provides its 126 member businesses with a user-friendly, free online tool for recording and analysing energy consumption that is tailored to their needs. The aim is to increase energy efficiency and help the businesses reduce their individual CO2 emissions. EKART.at enables businesses to transparently present their energy consumption development through energy monitoring and thus identify potential savings (energy and CO2 reduction path). This approach makes a long-term and sustainable contribution to saving energy and promoting climate protection.
urlaubambauernhof.at
Montfortstr. 9
6900 Bregenz
09 Walser food for body and soul in Kleinwalsertal

“Walser Kost für Leib und Seel” is the name of a cookbook by master chef Ortwin Adam (†2019) from 1987. Adam earned the first Michelin Star for Austria. This book is the “original soup” and the starting point of the newer, regional cuisine in Kleinwalsertal. Now out of print, the cookbook was a cultural component in the development of regionality because it served as a guide to local cuisine. In addition to recipes, there was information on lifestyle, utensils, Walser customs and holidays, food, menus and Walser dialect in words and pictures. A series of events is planned as a continuation of the Kleinwalsertal Herbst.Genuss.Zeit and is an important part of the new focus on regionality and culinary delights by Kleinwalsertal Tourismus eGen.
- hoheneck.at (in german language)
  Walserstraße 365
  6993 Mittelberg
10 Gravel bike festival "into the wold"

In cooperation with Bregenzerwald businesses, the buero balanka team developed the four-day gravel bike festival “into the wold”, which will take place for the sixth time in the Bregenzerwald in July 2026. It includes culinary rides and themed rides, a sprint challenge, a cultural evening, yoga and much more, and is aimed at both ambitious and leisure cyclists. The routes run along existing trails, and shuttles are provided to encourage travel by train.
- intothewold.at (in german language)
  buero balanka OG
  Königsklostergasse 5, 1060 Wien

01 Badhus Lingenau, Bregenzerwald

02 Hör-Radweg: Über die Grenze (Audio cycling route)

03 The renovation of St. Gerold Priory

04 Stadthotel kleiner Löwe, Bregenz

05 Friends and Fools - Familie Walch, Rote Wand in Lech Zürs

06 Experience nature consciously in the Kleinwalsertal - Guardians of Nature

07 Nature-friendly mountain sports in the Montafon

08 Energy efficiency at Farm Holidays Vorarlberg

09 Walser food for body and soul in Kleinwalsertal

10 Gravel bike festival "into the wold"