We include on the following pages a brief description of the "Tyrol" stretch of the Via Claudia Augusta with their special features and accommodation as you continue your journey from north to south along the Via Claudia Augusta. Although you have to scroll somewhat you can also print out the entire stretch of route at once. You can use the introductory menu to skip directly to each segment.

(Vils, Reutte, Pinswang, Musau, Breitenwang, Wängle, Lechaschau, Höfen, Ehenbichl, Pflach, Weißenbach)

As you travel along the Via Claudia through Bavaria towards Tyrol, the Alps are in view for a long time beyond the Bavarian Alpine foothills. On the border between Bavaria and Tyrol, the mountains rise up abruptly. As we enter the first region in Tyrol on the route, we pass between two mountain ranges, rather resembling a gateway. The Reutte Nature Park Region can therefore justifiably be described as the Tyrol Gateway.

The route follows the River Lech for a while, and before long we get a feel for the unique, wild river landscape typical of the Tyrolean Lech Country Park. The market town of Reutte, the bustling centre for the region, owes its former prosperity to the old Salt Road, large sections of which are identical to the Via Claudia Augusta. A number of buildings in the centre of the town testify to its historic past. The Local History Museum is located in the Grünes Haus. High above Reutte is the Burgenwelt Ehrenberg, where visitors can wander among castle ruins, take a tour of the ‚On the Knights' Trail museum, admire the medieval grandeur and, if you are there at the right time, the annual knights' jousting tournaments. Opposite there is the Hahnenkamm Arena with the delightful Alpine flower garden and Alpine barefoot walk.

 

The following businesses are geared towards meeting the needs of Via Claudia travellers.

at least one dish as it was 2,000 years ago

member of Tiroler Wirtshauskultur

I-VII The price categories in the advertisements below should provide a rough idea of the price range and are quoted per person and night for a double room:
I = < EUR 15,-   II = EUR 15 - 23,-   III = EUR 23 - 30,-   IV = EUR 30 - 35,- 
V = EUR 35 - 50,-   VI = EUR 50 - 70,-   VII > EUR 70,-.

Bichlbach used to be the centre of the Ausserfern Guilds. It was from here that all those famously skilled itinerant craftsmen set off into the wide world. But before leaving they gathered in Austria's only guild church. Now the newly-adapted guild museum bears witness to those days. Well-preserved but buried on the moor in the Moos wetlands between Lermoos, Ehrwald and Biberwier lies the world's only log path, which the Romans constructed from 1000s of floating tree trunks. The easiest way to get to the top of Germany's highest mountain, the Zugspitze, is from Ehrwald on the Tyrolean Zugspitz railway. Biberwier, at the foot of the Fern Pass, was the site of a Roman way station. In more recent times it was an important mining town.

The following businesses are geared towards meeting the needs of Via Claudia travellers.

at least one dish as it was 2,000 years ago

member of Tiroler Wirtshauskultur

I-VII The price categories in the advertisements below should provide a rough idea of the price range and are quoted per person and night for a double room:
I = < EUR 15,-   II = EUR 15 - 23,-   III = EUR 23 - 30,-   IV = EUR 30 - 35,- 
V = EUR 35 - 50,-   VI = EUR 50 - 70,-   VII > EUR 70,-.

The ensemble comprising the castle and Hotel Fernstein in Fernstein dates back to a medieval customs station at the southern frontier of Zwischentoren. Nassereith can look back on a long history of mining as evidenced among other things by the many clearly visible orifices in the local Wannig mountain. A forest path situated immediately on the historic road leads past the pilgrimage site of Dormitz that is assumed already to have existed in Roman times to reach Strad. After this the Frauenbrunnen Kneipp facility directly on the Via Claudia cycle route offers rest for weary legs and just beyond this the Knappenwelt Gurgltal mining village provides an insight into the important mining history of the region and the life and work of medieval miners. Among other things, Tarrenz offers the BIERMYTHOS world of beer. The Ballhaus Museum in Imst contains a collection of exhibits related to the town’s cultural history. Imst is also where the global SOS Children’s Villages organisation was founded. Action can be had on the world’s longest rollercoaster, the Alpine Coaster. Imst, which together with the settlements of the Gurgltal valley forms one of Tyrol’s carnival strongholds, invites you to experience the major carnival tradition throughout the year at the Carnival Museum (Haus der Fasnacht).

 

The following businesses are geared towards meeting the needs of Via Claudia travellers.

at least one dish as it was 2,000 years ago

member of Tiroler Wirtshauskultur

I-VII The stated prices refer to per person/per night in a double room:
I = < EUR 15,-   II = EUR 15 - 23,-   III = EUR 23 - 30,-   IV = EUR 30 - 35,- 
V = EUR 35 - 50,-   VI = EUR 50 - 70,-   VII > EUR 70,-.

While en route to Landeck in Zams, it's worth paying a visit to the Zammer Lochputz, a ravine steeped in mystery. This popular destination offers dizzying views of one of the Tirol's finest white-water gorges. Then it's on to Landeck. Visible from afar is Landeck Castle, now a municipal museum, an important cultural centre, and a symbol for the town. Opposite, on the sunlit slopes, lie Stanz and Grins, home of the Stanz plum. Nowhere else can boast such high-order skills in the distilling of schnapps as this small part of Tirol. The Via Claudia Augusta carries on to Fliess, where the Tyrolean headquarters of the Via Claudia project are based.  This is where the archaeological documentation for the Via Claudia Augusta is stored, and there is also Fliess Archeological Museum, home to a collection of pre-Roman relics, the like of which are normally only found in large cities. Fliess is also the gateway to  Kaunergrat Nature Park. This rural area is home to a unique biosphere of animal and plant-life, including no fewer than 1,400 butterfly species and many other unusual fauna and flora.

 

The following businesses are geared towards meeting the needs of Via Claudia travellers.

at least one dish as it was 2,000 years ago

member of Tiroler Wirtshauskultur

I-VII The stated prices refer to per person/per night in a double room:
I = < EUR 15,-   II = EUR 15 - 23,-   III = EUR 23 - 30,-   IV = EUR 30 - 35,- 
V = EUR 35 - 50,-   VI = EUR 50 - 70,-   VII > EUR 70,-.

The region has many sights to offer, starting with the curative  Sauerbrunn mineral spring in Prutz and Sigmundsried Castle in Ried, a former seat of the court that gave the region the name “Oberes Gericht” (Supreme Court). Ried swimming lake with its extensive areas for sunbathing and an island in the lake promises supreme relaxation. Although the stone bridge that when viewed from Tösens lies on the other side of the Inn is not Roman as implied by the name Roman’s Bridge in common local use, it is one of the oldest medieval bridges. The two Rhaeto-Romanic centres of Prutz and Pfunds are also particularly worth visiting, with Pfunds having the most Rhaeto-Romanic houses. But that is not all: The Pfunds Museum, which is worth seeing, lies in the centre of Pfunds village to the west of the Inn. The judge's house, the archway of which leads from Pfunds-Stuben across the Inn to Pfunds-Dorf, is also impressive. In the nearby Radurschltal valley you can visit the historic Greiter Mühle mill and Greiter Säge saw mill and at the same time discover the Radurschlklamm gorge, also referred to as the Pfundser Klamm. On the opposite western slope above Pfunds-Stuben on the footpath towards Kajetansbrücke you will also find the Minifundus with a large number of miniature replicas of houses from the village.

The following businesses are geared towards meeting the needs of Via Claudia travellers.

at least one dish as it was 2,000 years ago

member of Tiroler Wirtshauskultur

I-VII The stated prices refer to per person/per night in a double room:
I = < EUR 15,-   II = EUR 15 - 23,-   III = EUR 23 - 30,-   IV = EUR 30 - 35,- 
V = EUR 35 - 50,-   VI = EUR 50 - 70,-   VII > EUR 70,-.

The route through the Tirolean Oberland holiday region via Altfinstermünz to Nauders am Reschenpass continues along the Inn from Pfunds, partially crossing Swiss territory (don’t forget your passport) to the former medieval customs station at Altfinstermünz. Precisely at this point where the Via Claudia Augusta also crossed the newly risen Inn is where the covered wooden bridge with the distinctive bridge tower crosses the river. The customs station is currently undergoing extensive restoration. From Finstermünz the Roman road climbed up steeply to the fortress of Nauders. Until the nineteenth century the question was discussed as to whether to facilitate the climb by additionally harnessing oxen to horse-drawn vehicles or to build a ‘modern’ road with a constant incline and tunnels. At the end of the day the innovative road builders got their way and the forerunner of today’s Reschen trunk road was built. The highest point of the tour at 1,450 metres is finally reached via mountainous-like meadows after Nauders and shortly before the Reschen Pass. The cycle route presently still goes via Martina in Switzerland. However, a costly project to create a new cycle path solution in the footsteps of the Romans is already underway. Nauders incidentally is also still part of the Tiroler Oberland holiday region.

The buildings comprising the medieval customs station in Altfinstermünz at the newly risen Inn are currently being restored by an active association. A visitors’ centre is soon to open its doors. The northernmost stronghold of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, the barricade and fortress Festung Nauders, is today a military museum and houses a permanent exhibition about traffic crossing the Reschen Pass. The former seat of court at   Naudersberg Castle, situated on a hill a stone’s throw from the centre of Nauder village, also houses a museum today as well as a castle inn where you can eat and drink like the knights in former times.

The following businesses are geared towards meeting the needs of Via Claudia travellers.

at least one dish as it was 2,000 years ago

member of Tiroler Wirtshauskultur

I-VII The stated prices refer to per person/per night in a double room:
I = < EUR 15,-   II = EUR 15 - 23,-   III = EUR 23 - 30,-   IV = EUR 30 - 35,- 
V = EUR 35 - 50,-   VI = EUR 50 - 70,-   VII > EUR 70,-.