Schoppernau offers several ways to discover its culture and landscape: the parish church brings together two clearly dated stages in its history, while you can encounter Franz Michael Felder at the museum and on a trail named after him. For nature, there is an interactive exhibition at the Diedamskopf mountain station and an easy hiking trail starting from an intermediate cable-car station. You can choose between cultural and nature experiences depending on whether you are more interested in historical details, exhibition formats, quotations or a specific route.

Parish Church and Franz Michael Felder

Schoppernau Parish Church was built in 1710. It acquired its elaborate stucco work around the paintings and windows in 1796, and the stucco still adorns the church today. This means that 86 years separate the construction and the stucco work. These two dates offer specific starting points for exploring the church: the year it was built and a decorative addition made considerably later. This makes it possible to consider the church’s construction and stucco work as distinct stages. The location of the stucco is precise: it frames the paintings and windows.

The Franz Michael Felder Museum focuses on something different. It presents reproductions of manuscripts, photographs and other important original documents, accompanied by introductory and explanatory texts, on a fabric panel measuring 25 metres long and three metres high. Text, images and explanations are displayed together on one continuous surface. There is also a video projection and listening stations. You can hear historical readings of Felder’s works, Felder poems set to music and features about Felder. Visitors who enjoy engaging with different forms of presentation will find written explanations, reproductions and audio offerings side by side.

Franz Michael Felder is also the inspiration for a trail: the Franz Michael Felder Trail runs from Hinterhopfreben to Schoppernau. Along the route, information boards feature quotations from his work, highlighting important aspects of his life. While the museum focuses on reproductions and audio formats, the boards introduce the writer through his work along the trail. The difference is therefore not only in the location, but also in how visitors engage with the subject: an exhibition and listening stations on the one hand, and quotations on trail-side boards on the other.

Nature Experiences at Diedamskopf and on the Hiking Trail

The interactive exhibition “Mountain World to See and Marvel At” is located at the Diedamskopf mountain station. It explores the adventurous world of animals, the stories of ancient rocks and the wonders of nature. Visiting it depends on the cable car being in operation. So if you are planning to visit the exhibition, take the cable-car operating schedule into account.

Another way to focus on the landscape is to take the easy hiking trail from the cable-car intermediate station to Breitenalpe. It passes a small moor lake on the way to Falzalpe. Here, the route and the places mentioned provide your points of reference; by contrast, the exhibition focuses on animals, ancient rocks and nature. The two nature experiences therefore differ both in format and in what they invite you to focus on.

For cultural experiences, you can choose between a presentation featuring document reproductions and listening stations, and the Felder Trail with its quotations. For nature, the options are an exhibition that depends on the cable car being in operation and a hiking trail described as easy. This comparison can help you choose the focus of your stay in Schoppernau: historical decoration, Felder, nature topics at the mountain station, or a trail featuring a moor lake and alpine pastures.

For the broader travel overview: Bregenz.