Bregenzerwald Cheese Route
Cheese has a soul
The KäseStrasse Bregenzerwald is a road known beyond the borders of Vorarlberg. It is not a road at all, but a brand - for the rural region and its cheese. A network of producers and marketers. A philosophy of a quality and gourmet product and, as a "themed street", a realm of experience for guests and locals. Initiator Reinhard Lechner comes from Eastern Styria, but is now considered a "veteran of the KäseStrasse". A Bregenzerwald accolade that he has truly earned with this idea.
The partner companies of the KäseStrasse Bregenzerwald produce 55 million kilograms of cheese every year. The silage-free hay milk for the legendary mountain cheese comes from over 950 farmers in the region. Dairy farming and cheese production have a long tradition in the Bregenzerwald. The writer, social reformer and farmer Franz Michael Felder founded the first cheese association in the forest in 1868 to break the monopoly of the notorious cheese counts. Today, all cheese makers offer guided tours and exhibitions, such as in Schoppernau's mountain cheese dairy or in the Lingenau cheese cellar, where 55,000 wheels of mountain cheese and alpine cheese are matured. Six to seven varieties are normally common in a cheese region; the Bregenzerwald has 80 different types of cheese. "You won't find that anywhere else and it's what makes the region so special," emphasizes Reinhard.
The KäseStrasse Bregenzerwald showcases this unique variety, but the focus is on the farmers who produce it. Reinhard knew how to stage this perfectly. He himself had an eventful life and came via detours from Styria via Spain to Switzerland and finally to Vorarlberg. In the neighboring country, he earned his first spurs in gastronomy and trained as a business economist. He celebrated this in a wine bar in the Ländle, where he spontaneously accepted a job offer from a guest and managed the restaurants of a food chain in Austria. In the 90s, an accident forced him to take a two-year break, after which he had to find his way back into (professional) life. "At the time, the Vorarlberg Chamber of Agriculture was looking for someone to market Ländle products. I applied for the job with a neck brace and crutches," says the 70-year-old, laughing about his beginnings.
More than just a road
He has initiated and supported many initiatives in his career in Vorarlberg, such as "Natur und Leben Bregenzerwald" and the famous "Bregenzerwälder KäseStrasse". He also provided strong impetus for "Junges Gastgewerbe Vorarlberg" and its partnerships with rural producers in the region, "bewusst leben Montafon" and "Walser Bura im Kleinwalsertal". On behalf of the "Direktvermarkterverein", Reinhard was always in dialog with regional politicians, businesspeople, the hospitality industry, tourism businesses, farmers and regional networks. The KäseStrasse was officially founded in 1998 after a five-year development process.
Reinhard recruited around 200 partner businesses during the development of the KäseStrasse. Today, 12 alpine dairies, 38 alps, 50 restaurants, 36 cheesemakers, inns and agricultural businesses from the Bregenzerwald are part of the initiative. "Back then, I motivated every mayor and mayoress and visited all 26 municipalities in the Bregenzerwald. After we held the first mountain cheese award ceremony in Schwarzenberg in '93, we wanted to publicize the region's 1,000-year cheese history," explains the Styrian.
An association for the promotion of Bregenzerwald cheese culture was formed with 180 members today. "What makes the KäseStrasse special are its participants and the region. Both have their own stories that we are able to experience," says the idea generator and confirms: "We have found a function for each community in the KäseStrasse that suits the location - not the other way around. This allows us to tell our authentic story."
Innovation in the forest
It was actually supposed to be a Vorarlberg cheese route, from the Montafon to the Bregenzerwald. After all, the "Sua Kees" (sour cheese) from the Montafon is the oldest cheese in the country. "But then we realized
that the people of the Bregenzerwald have their own mentality and history. We didn't just want to describe their cheese in sensory terms, but also highlight special features of the people and their region," explains Reinhard. The people of the Bregenzerwald already claim to be "b'sundrig", he says. Here, "togetherness" is not only written in capital letters, but actually lived, even when there are differences of opinion. "Even when people 'argue' here, it's always with respect for each other," says Reinhard after his experiences in the forest.
"Meor ehrod das Ault, und grüssed das Nü, und blibot üs sealb und dr Hoamat trü" ("We honor the old, welcome the new and remain true to ourselves and our homeland").
In the Bregenzerwald, innovations are not ideas that fall from the clouds, but grow from within. "Our own identity is very important here. In another part of Austria that would come across as arrogant, but not in the forest. The people of the Bregenzerwald may be tense on the inside, but on the outside they stick together like a Roman legion," says Reinhard. It was therefore no surprise to him that, as a Styrian, he was sometimes allowed to have more of a say than someone from the Rhine Valley, "from the country" outside. "They didn't have to share any regional history with me. There's a reason for that - the Wälder:innen were forced to keep to themselves early on because there were no connections to the outside world in the past. They also learned their perseverance and stubbornness in the peasant republic and due to the tunnel policy of Inner Austria," analyzes the pioneer.
Cheese is a cultural asset
The KäseStrasse is therefore also a piece of culture and a diverse experience that is presented differently throughout the region. Just as the people of the Bregenzerwald have their own characteristics, each alpine pasture and dairy has its own individual trademark. The cheese also tastes different depending on the location. "It is a gourmet product that not only goes to the stomach, but deeper, into the body and soul. Here you eat tradition and culture. That's what we wanted to make resonate with people with the KäseStrasse and is this special value that you can only buy in the Bregenzerwald," emphasizes the idea generator.
The course for the future has already been set, but now the further development of KäseStrasse depends on the members and their ideas. "The KäseStrasse is a lively community that can have different facets," says Reinhard and notes: "We don't have to invent anything in the forest, but there are always parallels and similarities, including with other regions such as the Weinviertel Wine Route, for example, where you can dock on. These stories are valuable and the Bregenzerwald knows how to make the most of them, as does Vorarlberg."
Ideas for Damüls
For Damüls, the gateway to the Bregenzerwald from the Großes Walsertal, the 70-year-old would therefore like to see a more intensive cheese culture. Alps such as Alpe Uga or Alpe Oberdamüls as well as some tourism and gastronomy businesses are already members of the KäseStrasse. "I could well imagine several village tours with cheese and wine tastings in summer and winter for Damüls Faschina. But also something stationary, such as a cheese affinity center," says Reinhard. Because in all good cheese regions today, there are affineurs who refine and refine cheese.
"Perhaps cheese cooking courses for guests and tourists would be a hit, 'Wälder Happa' - similar to Spanish tapas with cheese in the member businesses or an annual cheese festival that could become a tradition," Reinhard lists. However, every idea always needs someone with credibility behind it. "This is already common practice in the Bregenzerwald. If there is an identity, it becomes a Wälder product anyway. Because they are rightly incredibly proud of it," says the pioneer, who is passionate about preserving regionality.
Maintain regionality
If you only get the same food from London to Bucharest to Malta, different regions are pointless. "Regional value creation is ruined and tourism doesn't make sense either.
makes no sense. We must continue to produce our food and luxury foods where nature and culture allow. Our regions must remain different - in taste, in smell, in appearance.
appearance. Then it's exciting to discover them from a culinary point of view," says the KäseStrasse maker and concludes: "We have to consciously acknowledge our regionality and live it out.
Everyone should do what they are good at. Then we'll have healthy competition and exchange, which will secure both substance and added value for the regions. This includes stories and
identities with dialects and traditions. Because behind every product are its producers, the region and its landscape."
