Lech (Vorarlberg)


Lech am Arlberg is a mountain village and an exclusive ski resort in the Bludenz district in the westernmost Austrian state of Vorarlberg, on the banks of the river Lech.
In terms of both geography and history, Lech belongs to the Tannberg district. In touristic terms, however, it is part of the Arlberg region. Lech is administered together with the neighbouring villages of Zürs, Zug, Oberlech and Stubenbach. Catering to wealthier clientel, particularly to the international jet set and foreign royalty, the municipality is an internationally known winter sports resort on the mountain range Arlberg,. The Dutch royal family and Russian oligarchs regularly ski there. Lech am Arlberg is one of the 12 members of the elite group "Best of the Alps“

History

Lech was settled and founded in the first half of the 14th century by Walser migrants from the canton of Wallis in Switzerland.
Until the nineteenth century, it was known as "Tannberg". Subsequently, the full name "Tannberg am Lech" gave rise to the present name "Lech".
The church of St Nicholas, which is thought to have been built around 1390, was the parish church of the Tannberg administrative district, and there was also a Tannberg district court in Lech until the dissolution of the Tannberg district in 1806.
In recent decades, the once small town has developed into a flourishing community, thanks to the influence of winter tourism and, increasingly, by summer tourism.

Population



Ski centre

In recent years Lech has grown to become one of the world's prime ski destinations and the home of a number of world and Olympic ski champions.
Lech is best known for its skiing. It is well-networked via mechanical lifts and well-groomed pistes with the neighbouring villages of Zürs, St. Christoph, St. Anton, Stuben, Warth, and Schröcken. All these villages are located in the Arlberg region, the birthplace of the modern Alpine skiing and the seat of the Ski Club Arlberg. It is one of the most extensive connected ski areas in Austria and one of the largest in Europe.
Lech is also the starting and finishing point for The White Ring, a circle of runs and lifts that is a popular tour and the scene of an annual race involving 1,000 participating ski racers. With its 22 km, it is considered the longest ski circuit in the world.
The mountain holiday scenes in the movie Bridget Jones' Diary 2 were shot in Lech.

FIS World Cup in Alpine Skiing">FIS Alpine Ski World Cup">FIS World Cup in Alpine Skiing

The ski area Lech-Zürs has been the venue for numerous FIS Alpine World Ski Championship races in the past, including the following:
After a pause of 26 years, alpine ski races will be held again in Lech in November 2020. The races, consisting of parallel ski races for men and women, as well as a mixed team event, will take place on November 14th and 15th in the Flexenarena Zürs.

Regular events

Numerous events take place in Lech.
Although not as well-frequented in the summer as it is in the winter, Lech nevertheless has sporting, cultural, culinary, and other activities. There are many premier hotels in Lech, as well as numerous top class restaurants.
One former well-known visitor was the writer Ludwig Bemelmans, whose 1949 novel The Eye of God was set in a fictionalised Lech.
Lech has a number of points of cultural interest, including:
Lech is at the location of the fictitous thriller An Exchange of Eagles by Owen Sela, in which a group of German and American conspirators tries to assassinate Adolf Hitler during the dictator's stay at the resort in 1940.
The action in the detective novel Crossed Skis - An Alpine Mystery by Carol Cormac, who also wrote as E. C. R. Lorac, takes place in London and Lech, with a party of English skiers. First published in 1952, it was republished in 2020 as part of the British Library Crime Classics series.
Lech was one of the filming locations of the 2004 movie , with Renée Zellweger.