Ried in the Upper Inn Valley offers a varied blend of architectural history, crafts and landscape. Sigmundsried Castle tells the story of a tower being transformed into a hunting lodge; with a drop of 170 metres, the Fallender Bach waterfall is a striking natural attraction. Bibi’s Fairy-Tale Forest features educational and puzzle stations, and the Via Claudia Augusta offers a specifically winter walking option between Ried and Tösens. The picture is rounded out by a guided tour exploring how locally sourced sheep’s wool is processed. When choosing where to stay, you can consider whether culture, crafts, a themed trail or a hike is most important to you.
Castle History and Crafts
In 1471/72, Duke Sigmund the Rich had the tower expanded into a stately hunting lodge. The date places the expansion in the second half of the 15th century and gives a clear sense of when the tower was transformed into a hunting lodge.
A different perspective is offered by the guided tour of the sheep’s wool factory. It shows how unique products are made from the wool of local Tyrolean mountain sheep. The process involves a great deal of handwork as well as machines that are up to 100 years old and powered by hydropower. The castle tour focuses on a historic renovation, while the sheep’s wool factory shows how a local material is made into products. The guided tour complements the historical topics with an insight into the production process.
Waterfall, Themed Trail and Winter Walk
The Fallender Bach waterfall offers a distinctive landscape: it plunges noisily 170 metres over a broad rock ledge. From Ried in the Upper Inn Valley, the waterfall can be reached via Alpe Stalanz. This gives you a specific route for planning your walk; the height and rock ledge also describe what makes this natural feature distinctive.
Bibi’s Fairy-Tale Forest is a family-friendly themed trail with 17 specially designed educational and puzzle stations. The circular trail starts and ends at the Tourist Board information office in Ried in the Upper Inn Valley. This shared starting and finishing point makes the route easy to follow: it brings you back to where you began.
The Via Claudia Augusta winter walking trail runs between Ried and Tösens along a well-maintained, paved cycle and walking path. It is easy and pleasant to walk and is ideal for a relaxing outing through the valley landscape. Maintenance and trail conditions may vary by season; check the current conditions before setting out.
The walking options can primarily be distinguished by their character: Bibi’s Fairy-Tale Forest is a family-friendly circular trail with educational and puzzle stations, starting and ending at the information office in Ried. The Via Claudia Augusta is specifically intended for winter and runs as a walking trail between Ried and Tösens. The Fallender Bach waterfall rounds out these options as a striking natural attraction, reachable from Ried via Alpe Stalanz. This lets you choose between a themed trail, a valley walk and a waterfall visit based on the type of route and what you would like to focus on.
Discover more destinations: Sankt Christoph am Arlberg, Spiss, Grins, Prutz, Fendels, Ladis, Tösens, Kappl.
Back to the overview of the region: Landeck.
