History
In the year 1302, on the southwest wall of the church in Mittelberg, is a reminder of the first settlement in the Breitach-valley by Walliser farmers who came over the high alpine pass from Tannberg. They were alemannic refugees from the canton Wallis (Switzerland), who established themselves in the high mountain valleys of Vorarlberg and who cleared the, up to then, unsettled mountain valley. Till then it was the hunting grounds of the Swabian Lords from Rettenberg, who left the cleared country to the settlers in exchange for a land tax. In the year 1451 Duke Sigmund of Tirol conquered Kleinwalsertal with force and it has belonged to Austria since around 1453 with all but a few interruptions. The Walsers had free jurisdiction and certain liberties from 1397 to 1807. The economical set-back relating to the German boarder duty of 1878 was resolved with the German Boarder contract effective from 1 May 1891 that meant that Kleinwalsertal was an economical enclave of Germany, but still had the Austrian sovereignty rights in place. This contract - in effect for over 100 years- has proved to work well for both sides of the boarder.

Geography

Kleinwalsertal is a high mountain valley consisting of three localities, Riezlern, Hirschegg and Mittelberg and is located from an altitude of 1100 to 1250 metres. Towards the east and southeast it is boarded by the Lechtaler alps, towards the north and the west  the Vorarlberger and Swabian pre-mountain plains open up. The "Großer Widderstein" with a highest point of 2536 meters borders the valley to the south, to Bregenzerwald and to Tannberg. The two parallel running valleys, the Breitach, in which the settlements lie, and the Schwarzwasser, which is solely an alpine area,  cover an area of 97 square kilometers.

Political

Kleinwalsertal is combined with its three localities mentioned before hand into one political municipality, which carries the name of the oldest settlement of the valley, MITTELBERG. The three localities are independent parishes. Whilst the political border lies in the north at the so-called "Walserschanz", it also exists on the mountain ranges surrounding Kleinwalsertal, and it is this boarder which cuts the valley off from  its motherland

Customs
Due to the centuries-lasting compartmentation and the independent existence of the Walsers, their special customs, being the Swiss dialect and the special womens´ historical costume, have been maintained since the Middle Ages and this is still the case today. Evidence of this and definitely worth seeing for this express reason are the Walser marriages, the spring processions and the Heimatabend. Interesting to note is also the architectural style of the old Walserhouses with their housing tradition. The Walsermuseum in Riezlern and the Walser culture trail offers a folkloristic overview.

Economics
Originally Kleinwalsertal depended exclusively on agriculture. The long trip to the markets however could only be made through the high mountain passes, which separate it from the motherland. This was a restraining condition for the economy which resolved itself with the German Boarder Contract mentioned earlier. The general development of tourism after the world war created new possibilities for Kleinwalsertal due to the scenic and climatic conditions being well suited for this industry. Today the population of the valley lives almost exclusively from tourism and due to the many newly created establishments it has become one of the most-visited tourist destinations in the northern alpine region.