Most beautiful hiking routes

A natural oasis in the middle of the trade fair city

Dornbirn is the economic center of Vorarlberg, but also has a lot to offer in terms of scenery.

(Bild: Bergauer Rubina)

Dornbirn's Zanzenberg is a popular local recreation area. This is not least thanks to the industrialist Viktor Hämmerle.

The Zanzenberg is a geological moraine hill (580 meters) that rises gently above the city of Dornbirn. If you are staying in the trade fair city and fancy stretching your legs while enjoying a beautiful view, you should consider a Zanzenberg circuit. From the Hintere Achmühle area, the route first follows the road over the Dornbirner Ache. There is a signpost diagonally opposite the large playground in the Vordere Achmühle area. Follow the signs in the direction of "Zanzenberg/Kehlegg".

Tips and information

Type: extended walk
Starting point: Hintere Achmühle, Dornbirn
Duration: just over an hour (via the Zanzenberg-Steinebach route)
Equipment: shoes with good tread soles, clothing suitable for the weather
Ascent: around 170 meters in altitude
Refreshment stops: there are plenty of places to stop for refreshments in Dornbirn town center (if you are on foot, you can follow the Achweg towards the town center).
Public transport: for example, bus route 210 from Dornbirn train station to Hintere Achmühlerstraße

Historically, the Zanzenberg is one of the older settlement areas above Dornbirn. The origin of the name is not clear, but it is mentioned in a document as early as 1431 as the name of a vineyard. In the 19th century, the well-known textile industrialist Viktor Hämmerle had a park with walking paths and viewing points created on the Zanzenberg, probably modeled on the Bergisel in Innsbruck. Only remnants of the park remain today, although the current design of the local recreation area is probably still based on Hämmerle's plans. 

The first harbingers of spring
At the beginning, the path leads steeply uphill in jagged serpentines. Numerous oak and beech trees line the path. Even though the vegetation still appears bare at the beginning of March, new greenery is already appearing between last year's leaves: delicate leaves and stems are still pushing through the soil towards the light and the first harbingers of spring are already in bloom. The tree population on the Zanzenberg is partly due to the redesign of the nature park by Viktor Hämmerle. The steep slopes are home to beautiful and largely semi-natural mixed deciduous forests, which vary greatly depending on their exposure. The south to southwest-facing slope towards Vordere Achmühle is characterized by English oak and hornbeam forests. In this composition, the stands are quite similar to the mixed deciduous forests of the post-glacial warm period and are worthy of protection. On the north-eastern side of the Zanzenberg, which faces the Steinebach valley, mainly beech forests and hornbeam-maple-ash forests have developed. Unfortunately, these have been heavily cleared for safety reasons.

Nevertheless, corvids and large birds of prey such as kites feel at home in the treetops and the airspace around the area. The latter can be easily recognized by their flight pattern: The red kite, for example, has a deeply forked rust-red tail and a strong brightening at the bases of the hand wings. The slightly smaller black kite has darker plumage and a less forked tail.

Wood anemone

The wood anemone is one of the first plants to adorn the forest floor with its white flowers in spring. The delicate little flower feels particularly at home in sparse deciduous forests, on forest edges or in bushes, where it often forms dense carpets of flowers. The plant belongs to the buttercup family and uses the time before the leaves emerge from the trees to soak up as much light as possible and bloom. The wood anemone is characterized by its white, sometimes slightly pink shimmering flowers with six to eight petals and its three-part, feathery foliage. The plant retracts into its underground rhizome as early as May and survives there until the following spring. The wood anemone plays an important role in the ecosystem as it is an early food source for insects and beetles. Like all buttercups, all parts of this species are poisonous to humans.

Once you reach the Zanzenberg plateau, you have a fantastic view over the entire trade fair city, the Rhine Valley and, on nice days, even as far as Lake Constance. On the other side, Dornbirn's local mountain Karren, the Staufen and the Mörzelspitze rise up. At the highest point of the small Zanzenberg there is also a camp site run by the Dornbirn scout group. If you would like to extend the tour a little further, you have the option of hiking towards Oberdorf via Steinebach and back to the starting point. The route is well signposted.