The original Walser village of Damüls lies in the heart of Vorarlberg. The extensive scattered settlement at an altitude of 1,300 to 2,100 m consists of the three main parcels Oberdamüls, Uga and Schwende. There are two possible interpretations of the place name Damüls. A document from 1382 contains the name Tumuls, presumably derived from the Latin tumulus = hill. In 1436 it is written Damüls and in 1465 Damulc. In a deed of indulgence from 1500, the sporadic reading "Ufi dem Mulcz" can be found. Mulcz is a Romansh word that is related to the Latin mulgere = to milk. "Ufi dem Mulcz" could therefore mean something like "on the milking slope", which could largely correspond to the facts.

Isolated pre-German names such as Trischta, Bregez and Portla suggest that Damüls was used as a hunting and alpine pasture area early on. However, the year-round settlement is almost certainly the work of the Walser people from the Swiss canton of Valais. It should be seen in connection with the nearby Laternsertal valley. The first mention of this Walser colony is in a contract dated 29 May 1313, when Counts Rudolf and Berchtold von Montfort (now Feldkirch) enfeoffed the Valaisans Thomas and Jakob Bondt, Walter's sons ze der Tannen, Heinrich Vogel von Bont, Jakob von Nifesinen and his son Walter with the Alpe Ugen in exchange for a Martinizins of four Pfd. coin with the Alpe Ugen (today Uga). The enfeoffment took place at the same time as that of Bonacker/Außerlaterns to other Walser settlers.

Thirteen years later, on 16.6.1326, another enfeoffment took place by Count Ulrich von Montfort in agreement with his brother Rudolf. Eight Walser received the "Allb Tamuls" as a hereditary fief. The feudatories were mostly the same people as those named in the first document in 1313, or in some cases their descendants. These Walser colonists were the main descendants not only of the population of Damüls, but also of the neighboring village of Fontanella and other villages in the Großes Walsertal. A not insignificant part of the population in the rear Bregenzerwald is also descended from Walsers, as can be seen from the family names. Of course there was also immigration in the opposite direction.