The village of Damüls
Damüls is a magical composition of mountains, lakes and unique light. Add to this an amazing expanse, diverse accommodation and inspiring people. All this ensures that you will never get bored.
History
In the late Middle Ages, people from the Swiss canton of Valais were forced to leave their homeland due to poverty and look for new places to live. Around 1300, remote, impassable and undeveloped valleys in Vorarlberg, western Tyrol and Graubünden were made available to them for clearing and settlement (Alpe Uga). The Walser were "free farmers on free land" with their own court and parish, but had to provide military service to the authorities with "shield and spear" if necessary. The first written mention of Damüls (Alpe Ugen) was discovered in a feudal charter of the Counts of Montfort (Feldkirch). The Montfort rulers in the 13th century were keen to increase the population and strengthen their national defense with mercenaries. Emigrants from the Valais were also hired for this purpose. In return, they were offered personal freedom and their own land. However, this had to be cleared first.
The then densely wooded area of Damüls was already used as an alpine pasture in pre-Walser times. The name Damüls is Romanesque and, according to linguists, means either hill or milking place. Together with Fontanella, Damüls had its own court, the so-called Obergericht, until 1806. This is why the area around Fontanella is still called "Obergricht" today. In 1390, Damüls became part of Austria along with the Feldkirch dominion.
Geographies
Damüls is the highest village between the Bregenzerwald and the Großes Walsertal and is located in the westernmost province of Austria, in Vorarlberg, in the district of Bregenz between 1,300 and 1,700 meters above sea level. The municipality of Damüls belongs to the political district of Bregenz and the diocese of Feldkirch. Damüls forms almost exactly the center of the federal state of Vorarlberg and borders on all Vorarlberg districts.