Elbigenalp: Hiking, Theater and Cultural Heritage

Elbigenalp: Hiking and Culture

Elbigenalp offers several distinct points of interest for a stay: the Geierwally Circular Trail, the Geierwally Open-Air Theater, the Wunderkammer and historic churches. For planning, it helps to consider hiking time, possible performance dates and cultural sites separately. This lets you decide whether your main focus is a longer hike, theater and concerts, or collections and architectural history.

Hiking and the Woodcarving School

The Geierwally Circular Trail starts and ends at the paid parking lot in front of the Elbigenalp Woodcarving School. The circuit takes about three and a half hours in total. This gives you both a specific starting and ending point and an approximate time frame for planning. Elbigenalp is home to Austria’s only woodcarving school. It is another cultural point of interest alongside the trail; the parking lot mentioned is directly in front of the school.

Geierwally Open-Air Theater

The Geierwally Open-Air Theater is built into the striking cliffs of the Bernhardstal Gorge in Elbigenalp. Plays and concerts related to the Lechtal region are performed there. The trail and the open-air theater share the name Geierwally, but they are different points of interest for planning your stay: here, a hike with an approximate total duration is the focus; there, a venue for plays and concerts. Lechtal Tourism, Dorf 46, 6652 Elbigenalp, is listed as the point of contact for ticket sales; please verify this information before your visit. If you would like to include a performance in your stay, also check the specific dates.

The Wunderkammer and Historic Churches

The Wunderkammer is housed in the former Elbigenalp doctor’s residence. Drawing on Johann Anton Falger’s collection, it displays copies of important historical documents, climate studies, anatomically precise drawings, geological finds and examples of traditional Lechtal clothing. Its range therefore spans historical documents, natural history finds, drawings and clothing.

The churches also offer different historical points of interest. The Roman Catholic parish church of St. Nicholas in Elbigenalp is a protected monument. North of the village, the pilgrimage church of Christ on the Mount of Olives stands on a rocky outcrop; it was built between 1670 and 1680. St. Martin’s Chapel was built in the 15th century above an ossuary. It contains 18 panels depicting the Dance of Death, dating from 1840. When planning your trip, you can distinguish between different construction periods and historical details: the location and construction date of the pilgrimage church, and the ossuary and painted panels in St. Martin’s Chapel.

Another Activity at Gibler Alm

Gibler Alm has a spacious natural forest playground. It adds another specific place to the selection, alongside the trail, theater and historical sites. As you organize these different highlights for your stay, you can compare the approximate duration of the Geierwally Circular Trail with the specific performance dates at the theater, and plan the Wunderkammer and churches as separate cultural activities.

If you’re looking for a hotel in Elbigenalp, the focus of your stay can be a good starting point: will the hike shape your schedule, would you like to attend a performance, or are you especially interested in collections and architectural history? An approximate total duration is given for the trail; for theater and concerts, the respective dates are important. Check the theater information before your trip.

Discover more destinations: Lähn, Hinterhornbach, Stanzach, Zöblen, Heiterwang, Häselgehr, Mitteregg, Reutte

Go to the main travel overview: Reutte.